The family of a Merrimack, Massachusetts woman said she died of Legionnaires' disease a week after staying at the Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield. Henry Krushwitz said his wife, Barbara Krushwitz, died in October at age 71. On Friday, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced that two cases of Legionnaires' disease had been identified among those staying at the resort. They said one person died and a second person from Rhode Island was hospitalized. .Krushwitz said she went swimming in the pool and hot tub at the resort, but he didn't. Barbara was a physical therapist who loved yoga and her three sons, she said. He believes he should have done more after his wife's death to prevent the second person from getting sick. Now a second person has fallen ill. That is unacceptable,” said Kruschwitz. “You don't want to see anyone else go through what I went through.” The shock of losing his wife is still raw. “Her heart had stopped and she couldn't be revived,” Krushwitz said. “And — that's about as much as I can tell.” The health department launched an investigation into the resort last week.>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <
Woman dies of Legionnaires' disease while staying at Mountain View Grand Resort, husband says
The family of a woman from Merrimack, Massachusetts, died of Legionnaires' disease a week after staying at the Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield.
Henry Kruschwitz said his wife, Barbara Kruschwitz, died in October at age 71.
On Friday, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced that two cases of Legionnaires' disease had been identified among those staying at the resort.
They said one person died and a second person from Rhode Island was hospitalized.
Krushwitz said she went swimming in the pool and hot tub at the resort, but he didn't.
Barbara is a physical therapist who loves yoga and her three sons, she said.
He believes he should have done more after his wife's death to prevent the second person from getting sick.
“Now it's hard to find a second person sick. It's unacceptable,” Krushwitz said. “You don't want to see anyone else go through what I went through.”
The shock of losing his wife was still raw.
“Her heart had stopped and she couldn't be resuscitated,” Krushwitz said. “And—that's as far as I can tell.”
The health department launched an investigation into the resort last week.
>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play <
The hot tub there is closed.
At this point, officials don't know if the cases are related to the resort's water system.
“We want to make people aware of the possibility of exposure at this resort. We are investigating. We have not identified anything yet,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan.
The disease is caused by Legionella bacteria, which contaminates water systems. Health officials said people can get sick by breathing water droplets from showers, hot tubs or faucets.
Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headache, and pneumonia. Symptoms usually develop two to 14 days after exposure.
The elderly, immunocompromised and smokers are generally at higher risk. The most severe form of infection is pneumonia. Chan said guests should be on the lookout for symptoms, especially those with severe symptoms of pneumonia such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.
