Top drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline closed a factory in North Carolina Tuesday for an indefinite period of time Tuesday after test conducted at a cooling tower led to the discovery of the presence of the bacteria that caused the lethal Legionnaire's disease.
It was during a routine inspection at the area in Zebulon, N.C., that the Legionella bacteria were unearthed, said the company.
According to Reuters, the shutdown was not expected to upset the supplies of medicines manufactured at the factory including GSK's Advair, which earns $7 billion a year. Two other locations in Evreux, France and Ware, England manufacture Advair.
GSK stated that the lockdown was part of precautionary measures taken and as soon as the situation was controlled and remedied the Zebulon site would immediately resume operations. The tower where the bacteria was discovered was a stand-alone structure which makes no contact with any company products.
"The cooling towers will be cleaned and retested before the site goes back into operation. GSK is taking these precautions to ensure the health and safety of our employees, as well as the safety and integrity of our products," said the group in a statement.
Officials from the London-based firm stated that around 400 of its 850 employees were advised to refrain from going near the the cooling towers until deemed safe.
GSK is reportedly mum over queries pertaining to any possibility of indoor exposure of medicines or employees from water droplets that may bring the bacteria.
Spokeswoman Jenni Brewer Ligday said, "We are trying to gather information on what the situation is."
Testings were conducted quarterly, but the company was probing "more details on whether product has been impacted and, if they have, what is our procedure in place to handle that," as per Trading Room.
Meanwhile, two more fatalities from the Bronx have been added to the casualty of Legionnaire's disease, bringing the total to 12 amid the largest outbreak in the history of New York City.
Officials said the tally of reported cases of Legionnaire's in the Bronx area summed up to 113, with cooling towers located in 18 buildings yielded positive for Legionella bacteria.
Legionnaire's disease is a class of pneumonia especially lethal for the elderly and immunocompromised.
"We are dealing with a new set of realities we have never experienced that we have never encountered before in this city," said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, as per Huffington Post.
