Two workers possible victims of Legionnaire's

CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- Two workers at a Ford Motor Co. plant are being treated for what may be Legionnaire's disease, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday.

Ron Iori, a spokesman for Ford, said the employees are being treated for "suspected Legionnaire disease." Health officials in Cleveland referred calls to the mayor's office, which did not immediately respond.

Iori said the two Ford employees worked at the casting plant in Brook Park, a Cleveland suburb. But he stressed that authorities have not made any connection to the suspected illness and the plant itself.

"We're not sure that's the source of the illness," Iori said. "We're working with the county on site."

Iori refused to say what precautionary measures, if any, Ford had taken at the plant. "We've spoken to our employees," he said, adding that the plant remained opened and operating.

Legionnaire's disease is an acute, respiratory bacterial infection that can be fatal. An outbreak of the disease in Philadelphia in 1976, largely among people attending a convention of the American Legion, led to its name.

The disease is usually spread through mist that comes from a water source, such as cooling towers, air conditioning or showers.

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CDC - Legionnaire's Disease

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