One of the GlaxoSmithKline’s drug-making plant based in Zebulon was closed on August 11 after the bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease were found inside its premises.
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Legionella bacteria found in cooling tanks in the Bronx section of New York City caused 12 Legionnaires’ disease deaths this summer.
“This is a form of pneumonia and we can treat it with antibiotics”, de Blasio said during his Tuesday visit, an attempt to quell fears during the city’s largest and deadliest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. People get infected when they inhale the water droplets contaminated with the Legionella bacteria sprayed from the buildings. Smokers, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are more susceptible than others to Legionnaires’ disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. We have fewer new cases, people are seeking care promptly and getting treatment promptly.
“We are going to have every cooling tower cleaned through this process”, de Blasio said.
The legislation is being drafted jointly with state officials, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would impose similar regulations across the entire state.
The company also released information that the towers “does not come into contact with product manufactured in the facility”, added Ligday.
Steve Greenbaum, the director of management at Mark Greenberg Real Estate, advises boards in buildings with cooling towers to conduct annual inspections. This package to systematically register and maintain cooling towers for the purposes of fighting Legionnaires’ Disease would be the first of its kind. Whalen said New Yorkers can expect new guidelines soon. They said at the meeting Monday that all five of the towers have been decontaminated. Another five cases could not be traced to a specific source of the bacteria.
A study published by city Health Department researchers in November identified risk factors of Legionnaires’ disease in the city by analyzing cases between 2002 and 2011. His remarks drew applause from the several hundred people in the audience.
Forest Hills Hospital has had no confirmed cases and said its cooling towers do not have the bacteria.
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“It’s really only a small percentage of people who are exposed to this disease that become ill enough to require hospitalization”, she said. “The simple thing to do is, if you live in this area of the South Bronx, go and get the medical attention right away”.
