97 Sick, 8 Dead in NYC Legionnaires' Outbreak: Officials
An additional death is being linked to the Legionnaire's disease outbreak in New York City that has sickened 97 others in the last three weeks, health officials said Wednesday. Checkey Beckford reports. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015)
Updated at 11:59 PM EDT on Wednesday, Aug 5, 2015
An additional death is being linked to the Legionnaire's disease outbreak in New York City that has sickened 97 others in the last three weeks, health officials said Wednesday.
That brings the death toll to 8 in the outbreak, clustered in the Bronx. Additionally, 97 cases of the disease, a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia spread through the air, have been reported in the south Bronx since July 10, city officials said in a statement Wednesday. That marks 11 new cases since the last update from the city Tuesday, and 51 new cases since last Wednesday, when health officials first discussed the outbreak.
The Department of Health and Mental Health said those who died were older adults and had additional underlying medical problems.
Legionnaires' disease is caused by exposure to the bacteria Legionella; in most cases, people are exposed to the bacteria by inhaling contaminated aerosols from cooling towers, hot tubs, showers and faucets or drinking water.
86 Sick, 7 Dead in 'Largest Outbreak of Legionnaires' in NYC'
[NY] 86 Sick, 7 Dead in 'Largest Outbreak of Legionnaires' in NYC'
Five more cases of Legionnaires' disease have been added to the Bronx outbreak that has claimed seven lives and sickened more than six dozen people in the last three weeks, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday. Gus Rosendale reports. (Published Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015)
Twenty-two buildings have been visited as "disease detectives" hunt for the source of the outbreak, the city said last Friday. Seventeen of those buildings have cooling towers -- five of those tested positive for Legionella, including one at Lincoln Hospital; one at Concourse Plaza; one at a shopping plaza; one at a Verizon office building and one at the Opera House Hotel. All have been decontaminated.
Bassett reiterated that the contaminated cooling towers have had no effect on the water in the Bronx, and that tap water remains entirely safe to drink.
The cases have been reported primarily in High Bridge, Morrisania, Hunts Point and Mott Haven since July 10, the Health Department said.
Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday officials believed they had identified the only sites that are causing the outbreak, and no additional cooling towers are believed to be contaminated. All of those sites must submit long-term plans as to how they will maintain cooling towers to protect against any future growth of legionella, he said. Those plans are due Friday.
[NY] Number of Legionnaires' Cases Rises to 86 Amid Deadly Outbreak: Officials
Five more cases of Legionnaires' disease have been added to the Bronx outbreak that has claimed seven lives and sickened more than six dozen people in the last three weeks, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday. The number of those killed stands at seven. Gus Rosendale reports. (Published Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015)
Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said authorities are confident one of the five cooling towers that tested positive for Legionella is the primary source of the outbreak, though it will likely take weeks to confirm. Now that the contaminated sources have been remediated, she said, authorities expected to see the number of cases continue to go down.
"This is the largest outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that we are aware of in New York City," Bassett said Tuesday. "Although we will continue to see cases, we expect the case rate to decline and the number of cases to fall over the coming weeks."
MORE
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Legionnaires-Disease-Deaths-Hospitalizations-New-York-City-320832101.html
