While the disease is contracted from inhaling infected water vapors – such as those that can come from air conditioners, swimming pools, hot tubs, tap water, and water towers – it is not transmitted from person to person.
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Governor Andrew Cuomo and the legislature are working on new laws and regulations governing cooling towers in New York buildings.
“We are dealing with a new set of realities we have never experienced that we have never encountered before in this city”, said de Blasio, who added that the nation’s largest city has had to create “a playbook” on the fly as to how to handle the crisis. There also will be a schedule of mandatory inspections, plus rules mandating prompt disinfection if bacteria are found. There will also be a method established for testing water for health threats.
She said the elderly or immune suppressed are at risk. The system was installed the week of August 3 and activated this week.
Most people exposed to Legionella don’t become sick.
Most deaths from Legionnaires’ disease are tied to hospital and nursing home showers, not outdoor cooling towers, new government figures released Thursday show.
NYCHA hosted a meeting May 15 for residents, senior center visitors and staff at the center.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) said there were roughly three weeks of conference calls initiated by the Health Department about the Queens cases.
The five new Legionnaires’ cases appeared in the South Bronx, the same place where the previous cases were registered, the administration said.
The disease is best avoided by following a strict maintenance of water systems to avoid contamination of the bacteria, since there are no vaccines available for the disease yet.
Teams led by the state Department of Health will be focusing on high impact areas and providing information on Legionnaires’ disease to members of the public as well as surveying additional buildings for cooling towers.
“GSK is taking these precautions to ensure the health and safety of our employees, as well as the safety and integrity of our products”.
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Forest Hills Hospital has had no confirmed cases and said its cooling towers do not have the bacteria.
