The Feathers: Results awaited after samples taken from Ludlow hotel
Samples have been taken from the Ludlow hotel believed to be at the centre of a Legionnaire’s disease outbreak which led to the death of a woman.
Public health officials took samples from The Feathers on October 30, which will take 10 days to process in the laboratory.
The Feathers Hotel was temporarily closed as a precautionary measure on September 13 after advice from Public Health England (PHE) in the West Midlands and Shropshire Council.
Laboratory test results established links between Legionella bacteria found in water samples from the hotel plumbing and two separate confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in guests, both from Merseyside, who stayed at the hotel.
The first case was diagnosed in April 2017 and has recovered.
The most recently diagnosed guest, Elaine Brown, 69, who stayed at the hotel in July, died.
Staff at the hotel posted on Facebook saying that if they are clear the hotel could reopen on November 13, and they invited visitors to join hotel staff on the day it reopens.
Early symptoms of the disease include a ‘flu-like’ illness with muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough and fever which can then lead to pneumonia.
The bacteria is widely distributed in the environment and can be found in hot and cold water systems and in forms of industrial and commercial water cooling systems.
The hotel was built in 1619 and is known as one of Ludlow’s best-known listed buildings.
Mrs Brown’s family have now instructed legal firm Irwin Mitchell’s to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death, and to found out if more could have been done to protect her.
Neil Edwards, Mrs Brown’s son, said: “We all miss mum so much and it is an incredibly emotional time for the entire family. While we lived away from each other, barely a week would go by when I would not call her to catch up on things, and even now I still get the urge to pick up the phone and give her a ring. It is hard to believe she has gone.”
