Bronx, New York, Has 65 Cases of Legionnaire’s Disease and Four Deaths

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx has sickened 65 people and killed four since July 10.

New York health officials are working to determine the source of the infections and have discovered the Legionella bacteria in air conditioning equipment at a hospital and a complex that contains a movie theater, ABC7 Eyewitness News reports.

Most cases of Legionnaires’ disease can be traced to plumbing systems with favorable conditions for growth of the bacteria, such as whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, cooling towers, and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems. Two rooftop cooling systems have tested positive for the bacteria, one located at Concourse Plaza on 161st Street, and the other an outside cooling tower at Lincoln Hospital. The city says there is no clustering of cases in either of the identified locations, but the cases have been centered mainly in four neighborhoods in the South Bronx: High Bridge, Morrisania, Hunts Point and Mott Haven. Twenty cooling towers in the Bronx need to be tested, according to health officials.

Since the start of the outbreak, 65 people have become sick, 55 have been hospitalized, and four have died, the New York Times reports. A number of South Bronx neighborhoods have reported cases: Hunts Point, Longwood, Morrisania, Crotona Park, Claremont Village, Concourse Village, Woodstock, Highbridge, Concourse, and Mount Eden.

The New York City Health Department is working to track down the source of the outbreak, which has been called “unusual.” At a news conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio said most New Yorkers are not at risk. Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia which is caused by the bacteria Legionella, “can only come through the air that is dispersed out of the cooling towers, the mist that is dispersed out of them. So we know we have a localized problem,” de Blasio said. Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said, “No employees, no patients in the hospital have acquired Legionnaires’ there.” Bassett said they acquired the disease in the neighborhood “and we don’t fully understand how,” ABC7 reports.

Health officials advise New Yorkers who have symptoms that could be Legionnaires’ to seek medical attention. Symptoms include fever, cough, chills and muscle aches to seek medical attention. Symptoms can also include headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion, and diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear two to 10 days after exposure to Legionella bacteria. About 2,200 Legionnaires’ illnesses have been reported nationwide since January 1, including more than 100 in New York City.

Middle-aged and older people are at high risk for Legionnaires’ disease, and more so if they are cigarette smokers. People with chronic lung disease or weakened immune systems, and people who take immunosuppressive drugs that weaken their immune systems are also at higher risk. Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person to person. Most people recover from the disease but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that between 5 and 30 percent of those who get the disease die.

For more information about Legionnaires’ disease, visit the city’s Health Department web site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/diseases/cdlegi.shtml.

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