DATE: Saturday, March 15, 1997              TAG: 9703150303

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   48 lines

SAILORS IMPROVE; DISEASE ON SHIP SEEMS UNLIKELY

A critically-ill sailor from the cruiser South Carolina was ``much improved'' Friday, and all remaining sailors hospitalized for pneumonia-like systems following the death of one crewman from Legionnaires' disease have returned to duty, the Navy said.

Centers for Disease Control officials in Atlanta, meanwhile, said their testing of samples from the ship's water system showed no evidence of the deadly bacteria.

``They have tried to grow Legionella bacteria and can't find any trace of it,'' said Lt. Cmdr. John Singley, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet Surface Force.

``That all but rules out the fresh water system'' as a possible source for the disease, he said.

Navy officials seemed somewhat more relaxed Friday after a full week of concern that an outbreak of respiratory disease had occurred aboard the South Carolina, which has a 400-member crew.

The ship went to sea on Tuesday, the first day it became known there may be an outbreak of the disease aboard. It returned Friday afternoon to anxious families who had been offered counseling by medical and shipboard personnel.

Following the Jan. 7 death of a 22-year-old sailor from Legionnaires' disease, another crewman became critically ill with acute pneumonia and remains hospitalized at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth.

That sailor, a 29-year-old chief petty officer, remains in the intensive care unit. However, he is making progress.

``He's responding, talking and recognizes people,'' Singley said, noting that while still on a respirator, the stricken sailor is breathing better on his own.

Five other South Carolina crewmen were hospitalized for various forms of upper respiratory disorders, including bronchitis. A few of those hospitalizations were precautionary, the Navy said.

Everyone aboard the ship was urged to seek medical attention if they had fever or a cough.

Medical officials are still seeking a source on the ship for the Legionella bacteria that killed the crew member.

The Navy said that it has recorded 21 cases of Legionnaires' disease between 1987, when the service began tracking the condition, and 1995, the last time it provided statistics.

Of those, only seven cases involved active-duty personnel. The rest were retired military members or dependents. Only two cases were ever reported aboard ship.

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