Pinellas teacher dies from Legionnaires disease, Florida Department of Health investigating

Beloved teacher dies from legionnaires' disease

FOX 13’s Jordan Bowen reports on the death of Kathy Pennington, who died of legionella, a serious and rare form of pneumonia, on November 24.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pasadena Fundamental Elementary is mourning the loss of one of its teachers, 61-year-old Kathy Pennington, after she died on Nov. 24.

Pennington had just celebrated her 61st birthday two days before she died. Her family said she was admitted to the hospital with a high fever and chills and that her health rapidly declined. She spent four days in intensive care and was put on dialysis.

Her family told FOX 13 that while in the hospital she tested positive for legionella, which is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, which is a serious form of pneumonia.

Pictured: Kathy Pennington.

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"It's like a dry cough, and it just comes on like you don't think you're sick," said Dr. Sammi Sammari, a family medicine doctor. "You just think you have this cough that's kind of coming and going and it sticks around for a while. And then as it progresses, it can lead to you get fevers, start to get chest pains, shortness of breath, and then that can lead to hospitalization."

The Florida Health Department is investigating, and the district moved students from the area where Pennington taught kindergarten. In a note to parents, the district said the move was to make repairs to the air-conditioning system and did not mention the teacher's death.

"It's a water borne illness, so people can get it from things like plumbing systems, air conditioning units, especially in large buildings. The water supply, like in a building. Hot tubs," said Sammari.

Pennington's family said she was a teacher for 36 years, most recently teaching kindergarten at Pasadena Fundamental Elementary.

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"She was an exceptional and passionate teacher, many of the students’ favorite," her sister Suzanne Geisler said in a statement sent to FOX 13. "She had an infectious laugh and approached life with great zeal. She kept in touch with her students, including sending letters and commissary money to one student in jail. She just LOVED her kids."

The school said once repairs are done, students will return to their normal classrooms. In the same note to parents, they also said, in an abundance of caution, air quality samples were submitted to an external lab, and the results are pending. They also said an environmental company has cleaned the building.

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