As the number of people sickened in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the South Bronx climbed to 71 on Sunday, health officials were still piecing together where the illness, a form of pneumonia spread through airborne water droplets, might have originated. Bronx Residents Anxious After 4th Death From Legionnaires’ DiseaseAUG. The meeting was organized by councilwoman Vanessa Gibson in an effort to address concerns, answer questions and clear the air.
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They have inspected 17 cooling towers at buildings in the area and five tested positive for the bacteria, called Legionella – Lincoln Hospital, Concourse Plaza, the Opera House Hotel, a Verizon office building, and Streamline Plastic Co.
Legionnaires’ disease is named after the 1976 outbreak at a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion that killed 34. In that first documented outbreak in ’76, 29 of the 182 infected people died. The largest outbreak was in Spain in 2001, when more than 400 people became ill.
Legionnaires’ disease is contracted by breathing in mist or vapor that is contaminated by the bacteria.
She said the contamination was identified in cooling towers, found only in commercial buildings’ ventilation or air-conditioning systems, and not in the wooden water tanks that store water for residential buildings. There have been no reported cases of it growing in auto or window air conditioners. It has led to 64 people being hospitalized, with 28 of those treated and released.
The office said Monday that there have been 81 reported cases of the flu-like disease.
“We are conducting a swift investigation to determine the source of the outbreak and prevent future cases”. Symptoms embrace fever, cough, complications and muscle aches. If you live in the South Bronx and have any of those symptoms the city Department of Health urges you to see a doctor. These usually appear two to 10 days after significant exposure to Legionella bacteria.
“There are still people out there who will be getting sick, not because the source is still there, but because it takes time for the symptoms to show themselves”, she said.
The infection can be treated with antibiotics and it doesn’t spread from person to person.
Dr. Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control in the city’s health department, told The Associated Press on Saturday that more cases are likely to emerge. The deceased were all older adults with preexisting medical conditions. Havy smokers or drinkers can also be at risk.
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NEW YORK (AP) The death toll from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has risen from four to seven people, city health officials announced Monday at a public town hall meeting of concerned residents.
