Family says Campobello woman died of Legionnaires’ disease after attending fair

CAMPOBELLO—The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office says their office has not received any reports about a Legionnaires’ disease death in the Upstate after a Campobello woman’s obituary listed her death as from Legionnaires’ disease. 

Lorene Hall Williams, 83, of Campobello, died on Oct. 8 and her obituary from Petty’s Funeral Home says she died from Legionnaires’ disease. 

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger sent a notice on Wednesday saying that he has checked on Williams’ cause of death and that it has not been posted on the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s website. Clevenger said at this time he is unable to confirm her exact cause of death. 

“I will also comment that this case was not reported to my office for investigation, as it does not fit the requirements,” Clevenger said Wednesday. 

He also said he has contacted the next of kin and they did report to him that the decedent did attend the North Carolina Mountain State Fair before being admitted to the hospital. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services cannot identify specific individuals for privacy reasons. 

As of Wednesday, 132 cases of Legionellosis had been reported. Of the cases, 48 were in Buncombe County, 33 were in Henderson County, 1 was in Polk County, 12 were in Haywood County and 8 were out of state. There have been 3 reported from Rutherford County and several other counties have 1-4 cases. 

The North Carolina Division of Public Health was notified about an increase in the number of Legionnaires’ disease cases on Sept. 23 in Buncombe and Henderson counties. 

The source of the outbreak is still under investigation. 

Many of the cases reported were from people who attended the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, which was held Sept. 6-15 in Fletcher. 

As a precaution, anyone who attended the fair and is experiencing cough, fever or shortness of breath is advised to call their healthcare provider right away. 

For updates, visit https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/legionellosis/outbreak.html.