Elizabeth Hannapel, MPH
Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Legionella team, NCIRD/DBD/Respiratory Diseases Branch
Liz Hannapel is an epidemiologist with the Legionella team in the Respiratory Diseases Branch in the division of Bacterial Diseases within CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The Legionella team, in partnership with environmental health specialists in the National Center for Environmental Health, provides technical assistance for legionellosis surveillance, prevention and outbreak response through epidemiology and laboratory services. Prior to joining the CDC Legionella team, she worked as the state Legionella coordinator for Georgia and the environmental epidemiologist for the largest local public health district in Georgia. Liz has been conducting legionellosis case and outbreak investigations at the local, state and federal public health levels over the past several years. She received her Bachelor of Arts at Haverford College and her Master of Public Health in epidemiology at Emory University.
The COVID-19 Pandemic: Testing the Resiliency of Legionnaires’ Disease Prevention
Co-Presenter: Commander Jasen Kunz, NCEH Safe Water Section
Abstract: The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) collaborate extensively on developing and improving response and prevention strategies related to opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens addressing public water supplies and premise plumbing systems. IDPH’s Legionella Response Team often calls upon IEPA’s Bureau of Water to collect information and collaborate with public water system operators on water systems to quickly and efficiently gain an understanding of water quality entering facilities associated with clusters of Legionnaires’ disease. This collaboration extends to improving field assessments of water systems, support in the field during investigations, and understanding of water quality changes in premise plumbing pathogens through sharing of resources, information and expertise. This relationship has also expanded opportunities for state health officials to educate public water system operators on Legionella ecology in human-made water systems, preventative water management and communication practices that can support successful building water management teams, particularly in health care settings.