Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) anticipates resuming production at its Zebulon site in the next three days after bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in the cooling towers, a company spokesperson said Wednesday.
A routine test found the bacteria legionella, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia, or a milder infection called legionellosis.
A spokesman said the entire campus, which has several buildings, was not shut down – only the main site. The bacteria was not found in any of the buildings, and the cooling towers do not directly put air into the buildings. The towers will be cleaned and retested before employees return to work.
The North Carolina Division of Public Health said Wednesday that no one has reported any symptoms or illness associated with the shutdown.
GSK employs several thousand people across the Triangle and uses the Zebulon plant to manufacture a variety of products. Among the products made in Zebulon are Advair, Breo and Ellipta. However, manufacturing of these drugs was not affected, the company said.
The medications produced at the plant are safe, the company told The Associated Press.
People can contract Legionnaires’ disease when they inhale water vapor or mist containing the bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It does not spread from person to person, the agency said.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokesman said Wednesday the drug safety regulator was still looking into the details and referred questions to GlaxoSmithKline.
About 600 of the 850 people GSK employs in Zebulon were affected by the building closure, a GSK spokesperson said.
Legionella bacteria found in cooling tanks in the Bronx section of New York City caused 12 Legionnaires’ disease deaths this summer.
Most people who are exposed to the bacteria do not become ill, but about 8,000 to 18,000 Americans are hospitalized with the disease annually, the CDC said.
