Worker at Ottawa CIC building diagnosed with legionnaires' disease

One person at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada building in downtown Ottawa was recently infected with legionnaires' disease, according to an internal CIC email.

The person was working in Jean Edmonds North Tower at 300 Slater Street and has since made a complete recovery, the agency confirmed Tuesday.

The infection comes on the heels of the discovery of legionella bacteria - which can cause legionnaires' disease - at Place du Centre at 200 Promenade du Portage, the second Gatineau building in the past two months where legionella has been found.

The CIC said they're working with Public Works and Government Services Canada to test the building's ventilation system.

Nothing indicates the source of the worker's infection was the Slater Street tower, a CIC spokesperson said.

Until the exact source of the infection is found, however, it's hard to say what sort of risks people are facing, said Bob Kingston, co-chair of the occupational health and safety commission for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

"If one of my colleagues has legionnaires' disease and they've admitted they don't know what the source is, I wouldn't be there," said Kingston. "I'd be working from home."

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia named after the unfortunate delegates infected during an outbreak at an American Legion of Pennsylvania convention in 1976.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 1 in 20 people exposed to the legionella bacteria contracts legionnaires' disease.