This image shows Legionella colonies growing on a Petri dish.
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Two people lost their lives to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York.
The city officials underscored that New York’s water supply remains intact and most residents are not at risk of contracting the disease. Department workers are now analyzing the water from air-conditioning systems and cooling towers to see whether it is contaminated with the Legionella bacteria. “I urge anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention right away”, she said. “This particular outbreak is still under investigation, so we have an evolving situation…in which the numbers may change”, Bassett said at a City Hall press conference Wednesday.
The New York City health department is investigating the source of the outbreak, including testing water from local cooling towers and other potential sources. These usually start to show up somewhere between 2 and 10 days after the initial infection. The commissioner announced that the department is conducting a quick investigation to identify the source, contain the spread, and prevent the occurrence of other cases. No details were immediately given about the two people who had died.
The disease was most likely spread through mist from the two cooling towers to people outside the buildings, officials said.
Legionnaire’s disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella, according to the Mayo Clinic. “Where do they travel, where do they work, where do they worship?”, Schaffner said of the kinds of questions health officials will ask patients.
Results from about half of those buildings returned by Thursday afternoon found water contaminated with the Legionnaires’ bacteria at two sites, a public hospital and a private housing development, he said.
No one at Lincoln hospital has contracted the disease, officials said, and there is no additional concern for patients there who might be exposed, since the clean-up process is already underway. The symptoms of this disease include the chills, a fever and a cough.
This is the second Legionnaire’s outbreak in the Bronx this year.
Most susceptible to the disease are the elderly, cigarette smokers and people with acute lung or immune system diseases.
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“We’ll have a lot more information in the next day as the disease detectives do their work”, said city mayor Bill de Blasio.
