A woman in her 70s who was being treated at a hospital affiliated with the Nagoya University Faculty of Medicine in Nagoya has died of pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria, local health officials said Tuesday.
The officials, who are investigating the case, suspect the woman contracted the disease while at the hospital in Nagoya's Showa Ward. The woman died June 28.
Hospital investigators found legionella bacteria in a hospital bath that was open to patients around the clock, but have not yet determined when she used it.
The bacteria in the woman's body nearly matches the bacteria found in the bathroom. The DNA in the samples is being tested, hospital officials said.
Hospital director Hidehiko Saito apologized for the death at a news conference. "We are aware that the bacteria can occur in 24-hour baths, but we believed that all we had to do was to use agents to sterilize the water. We took the situation too lightly."
Saito said that the hospital changed the bath water once a week and used chlorine and other agents to sterilize it. He said the hospital shut down the bath early this month.
On Tuesday, officials from Showa Ward's public health center conducted inspections of the hospital, after being informed of a suspected in-hospital infection.
Hospital authorities notified ward officials about the legionella case on Monday.
In June, five patients at Toyohashi Municipal Hospital in the prefecture became ill from in-hospital infections. One died of sepsis caused by a bacteria called pseudomonas putida.