However, the outbreak in Co-op City nor the death of Rouse’s brother has not been linked to the current outbreak of the disease.
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As reported by Wall Street Journal, health officials said the confirmed cases originated in the Highbridge, Hunts Point, Morrisania, and Mott Haven neighborhoods.
Two locations in the Bronx tested positive for Legionella bacteria; one was Lincoln Hospital, where the bacteria was found on the rooftop cooling system.
The disease was fatal for a man and a woman in their 50s who both had already been sick with other ailments, officials said.
Legionnaires’ Disease is a respiratory bacterial infection usually spread through mist that comes from a water source, such as cooling towers, air conditioning or showers. It is not contagious. The rise is linear and across all regions of the United States, he said. “The numbers may change”, the commissioner said. The system was being decontaminated and no patients or workers within the hospital contracted the disease, according to officials. “So we know we have a localized problem”. The Legionella bacteria was discovered in the cooling water in that area.
The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of August 19, 2011, from Dr. Lauri Hicks and others, noted that the incidence rates increased almost threefold from 2000 to 2009. The total of cases is up from the 31 reported Wednesday over the past three weeks. The disease can be treated and the signs and symptoms can be alleviated faster if consultation is made promptly. Of that total, 100 of them have been in New York City, which gives reason to believe that there is a certain reason for the unusually high number in that area. The illness sets in two to 10 days after exposure, and the symptoms are similar to those of pneumonia: shortness of breath, high fever, chills and chest pains. When infected, a person who contracts Legionnaire’s shows symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and diarrhea. The bacteria leads to the hospitalization of around 8,000 to 18,000 people in the U.S. every year according to the U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention and it is more commonly reported in the summer and early fall.
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Amid national fear of an epidemic, health care professionals worked to identify the mysterious illness.
