The Western Health Board has confirmed a second case of legionnaires' disease in Galway.
A man in his 30s is being treated for the condition at University College Hospital, Galway. Environmental health officers with the Western Health Board are identifying the source of the man's illness, and the National Disease Surveillance Centre has been notified.
The disease is contracted by inhaling bacteria-infected water vapour, and causes coughing and high fever and can be fatal. It is understood the man is employed in the building industry and may have contracted it during work on a derelict house. A woman who contracted the disease and was treated in Galway last May has made a full recovery. A health board spokeswoman said yesterday the patient currently in hospital is responding well to treatment.
Legionnaires' disease is so named because it was first detected at a convention of war veterans in the US in 1976. Some 30 members of the American Legion died from the illness. Earlier this year more than 130 people were reported to have the disease in Britain, and three patients died.
Man due in court after stabbing
A man is due before Dublin District Court this morning in connection with the fatal stabbing of a non-national in the city centre on Friday night. The 25-year-old victim was from eastern Europe. He was found in the basement flat in Seville Place in the north inner city late on Friday night.
He was taken to the Mater Hospital but died shortly afterwards. His name is not being released until relatives have been informed.
The suspected assailant is also from eastern Europe. He had been charged last night under the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Gardaí said the fatal stabbing took place during an altercation between the two men in the flat where the victim was found.
Irish woman killed in Cyprus
AN Irish teenager was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Cyprus on Saturday night, writes Conor Lally.
The 17-year-old woman died after being struck by a car as she and her brother were walking on a road near the western resort of Coral Bay. He was injured and was last night in a serious condition in a Cyprus hospital. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the incident. It has been offering support to the family. A spokesman said the dead girl's name would not be released until all relatives had been contacted.
It is understood the driver of the car involved in the fatal crash was a British man living in Cyprus. Cypriot police last night made an arrest in connection with the incident.
