{
  "id": "2023-02-13-san-diego-state-university-ens-legionella-closure",
  "slug": "san-diego-state-university-ens-legionella-closure-2023-02-13",
  "institution": {
    "name": "San Diego State University",
    "shortName": "SDSU",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "SDSU Alert",
    "enrollment": 37000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-02-13",
    "type": "public-health",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "resolved",
    "headline": "ENS building closed after Legionella pneumonia report",
    "headlinePublic": "ENS building closed after Legionella pneumonia report",
    "summary": "San Diego State University [posted four Urgent updates](https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure) after a campus community member was diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia. ENS was closed for testing. Later sampling found no L. pneumophila in ENS and a low count on one Annex water line; a 30-day disinfection followed.",
    "outcome": "ENS negative for L. pneumophila. Annex isolated low count. 30-day disinfection begun March 24; ENS then available to reopen."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-02-13T09:25:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "The ENS building is temporarily closed while SDSU’s Environmental Health and Safety investigates a report of a campus community member who has been diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia . Symptoms include cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches and headaches, and the disease can be carried in water systems.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure",
      "sourceDescription": "SDSU Urgent archive — Feb 13 2023 ENS closure 9:25 a.m.",
      "annotations": [
        "Dual independent fetches 2026-08-17. sha256 f6679df770f2accea7584db3c4d31b4a571f5d2a111a4d7784c7d5b20eb651a6.",
        "Thread checked N/A (official HTML archive).",
        "Not a test: live building closure after a Legionella pneumonia diagnosis.",
        "Confirmed text is the first timed paragraph. Later same-post paragraphs add County HHS coordination, avoid-the-building guidance, and health-advisories links (Cloudflare email protection on the last bullet; not reconstructed).",
        "Distinct incident from 2018-09-28-san-diego-state-university-meningitis-b-outbreak: different disease and year."
      ],
      "characterCount": 314
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2023-02-17T13:00:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "The ENS building remains temporarily closed while SDSU’s Environmental Health and Safety investigates a report of a campus community member who has been diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia. No additional cases have been reported, and the university continues to monitor the situation. Until testing is completed and the building is confirmed cleared for reentry, students, faculty, staff and visitors are not permitted to re-enter the building. The estimated clearance date is March 3, 2023.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure",
      "sourceDescription": "SDSU Urgent archive — Feb 17 2023 ENS closure 1 p.m.",
      "annotations": [
        "Same dual fetch. Estimated clearance date March 3."
      ],
      "characterCount": 491
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2023-03-02T18:30:00-08:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "The ENS building remains temporarily closed while SDSU’s Environmental Health and Safety investigates a report of a campus community member who has been diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia. No additional cases have been reported. Out of an abundance of caution, comprehensive testing by a speciality testing company is ongoing. Until testing is completed and the building is confirmed cleared for reentry, students, faculty, staff and visitors are not permitted to re-enter the building.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure",
      "sourceDescription": "SDSU Urgent archive — March 2 2023 ENS closure 6:30 p.m.",
      "annotations": [
        "Same dual fetch. Typo speciality preserved."
      ],
      "characterCount": 487
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2023-03-24T11:16:00-07:00",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Comprehensive test results performed by a state-certified, accredited specialty laboratory confirm there is no presence of Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila), the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, in the ENS Building. Comprehensive testing was also completed within the ENS Annex, as the Annex is directly adjacent to the ENS Building. Of the locations tested in the Annex, three samples, along a single water line, were found to contain a low number of L. pneumophila bacterial cultures. More detailed testing using DNA sequencing was also engaged to confirm. It is important to note that the water in the main pipelines moves from the ENS building into the ENS Annex, where the pipeline does not enter, or connect to any other university buildings or spaces. This means that the detection of L. pneumophila in the ENS Annex is isolated to the Annex building alone. Out of an abundance of caution, a 30-day disinfection process has begun in both the ENS Building and the ENS Annex. After that time, the ENS Building will then be available for reopening. The Annex will be available for reopening after an additional 14 day waiting period for post-disinfection confirmation sample results to be collected, received, and shared.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "confidence": "high",
      "sourceUrl": "https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure",
      "sourceDescription": "SDSU Urgent archive — March 24 2023 ENS test results 11:16 a.m.",
      "annotations": [
        "Same dual fetch. Not an all-clear: 30-day disinfection still underway."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1242
    }
  ],
  "context": "SDSU Urgent archive for a February-March 2023 ENS building closure after a Legionella pneumonia diagnosis.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Four official products from closure through Annex-isolated low counts and a 30-day disinfection plan."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "SDSU Urgent archive — ENS Building Temporary Closure",
      "url": "https://urgent.sdsu.edu/archives/2023-02-13-ens-building-temporary-closure",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-08-17",
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "archiveNotes": "SPN 523/500 earlier this run; not retried this file"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "public-r2",
    "california",
    "sdsu",
    "public-health",
    "legionella"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-08-17",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-08-17",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}