“And it also may have to do with the fact that we have an aging population, more people susceptible to the infection”. However, high concentrations of the bacteria can be risky.
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Mary Bassett, New York City’s health commissioner, told one crowded meeting on Monday: “There are industry standards that are left to the owners, and what we’ve all been talking about this evening is the government role”.
“This is an intensive, coordinated operation to protect the public health.”, Dr. Howard Zucker, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health said.
No one from Staten Island has died or contracted the disease as part of this outbreak, according to city officials.
“Everyone understands that the outbreak has been limited to one community in our city”, explains NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference, on Thursday.
As teams in New York City ramp up testing of cooling towers, Rockland County authorities say they are monitoring the situation after an employee at the Chromalloy manufacturing plant in Orangeburg was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. “This is literally uncharted territory and it’s important we recognize that we’ve never seen an outbreak of Legionnaires’ like this in the history of New York City“, he said.
“Every summer, when we are using air conditioning, the odds of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease increases”, said Dr. Debra Spicehandler, an infectious diseases specialist at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York. The outbreak that began last month in the South Bronx has been traced to cooling towers that release that mist.
Under Cuomo’s plan, any private business owner in the Bronx or anywhere else in New York State can ask state officials to have their cooling towers tested for Legionella bacteria contamination. Those people tend to be older adults with previous health problems. Seven more additional cases were reported in the area, making the total, as of today, to 108 individuals.
The sickness can’t be passed from person to person, and is transmitted when people breathe in water vapor containing the bacteria, according to health officials.
This disease usually flares up during summer & early in the fall. Symptoms include coughing, fatigue and confusion.
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All the cases are concentrated in the South Bronx, and the 10 people who died had pre-existing health conditions, such as weakened immune systems or lung infections, that exacerbated the Legionnaires’. Albany County had an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the end of 2011.
