GlaxoSmithKline resumes work at plant where bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease found

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline says a North Carolina plant is reopening after the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was discovered last week.

Spokeswoman Marti Skold Jordan says the plant in Zebulon that produces inhaled medications reopened early Monday, six days after it was closed following the finding of bacteria in cooling towers.

The London-based company says the towers have been cleaned and disinfected. About 600 of the 850 people GSK employs in Zebulon were affected by the building closure until the towers were cleaned.

The company has said no medications were compromised.

The same bacteria found in water tanks in the Bronx section of New York City caused 12 Legionnaires' disease deaths this summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 8,000 to 18,000 Americans are hospitalized with the illness annually.