Conflict-of-interest concerns may slow fight against disease

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Conflict-of-interest allegations against a Michigan company may slow a nationwide response to Legionnaires' disease outbreaks.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Ann Arbor-based nonprofit research company NSF International has been coordinating work on plumbing standards to reduce legionella bacteria. NSF announced in April that one of its for-profit branches would work with a Massachusetts consulting firm to improve water-system management.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mayo Clinic have withdrawn from a scientific committee working to address the Legionnaires' disease water crisis. Many committee members want NSF to terminate the deal.

NSF President and CEO Kevan Lawlor says there's no conflict of interest.

Legionnaires' has been linked to a dozen deaths in Flint, Michigan and 13 at a veterans' home in Quincy, Illinois since 2015.