It’s not uncommon for the city to report cases of Legionnaires’ Disease but the cases usually aren’t clustered in one location as they are in this latest outbreak. All the people who died of the disease were older adults with underlying medical problems.
Advertisement
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said it’s an important step.
The Health Department on Thursday ordered that within two weeks all buildings with cooling towers that haven’t been tested within the last 30 days must be evaluated and decontaminated if the bacteria is found. Failure to conform is a misdemeanor. When people inhale the mist from the infected cooling towers, that’s the point they acquire the Legionella bacteria and contract Legionnaires’ disease.
Officials are stressing that New York City’s drinking water is safe, along with all air conditioning. Also on Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that teams led by the State Department of Health will be deployed to the Bronx starting Saturday.
A spokeswoman for a Cleveland hospital says a 53-year-old woman has died from complications of community-acquired Legionnaires’ disease.
He continued, “Now, we remain confident that the source of these current cases has been remediated”.
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and diarrhea.
On Thursday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said the time had come for “all hands on deck” in battling the disease. The state is offering free testing to all private building owners through October. The five towers were at Streamline Plastic Co., Lincoln Hospital, the Concourse Plaza shopping center near Yankee Stadium, the Opera House Hotel and a Verizon office building.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that a “comprehensive package” of new legislation would be introduced to stop and prevent future outbreaks. He estimates there are as many as 10,000 cooling towers citywide.
Legionnaires’ disease can be treated with a special antibiotic.
It hasn’t been nearly as bad as the episode that gave the illness its name – the 1976 outbreak that killed 34 people who had attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.
Advertisement
Health Department said Tuesday that it is testing 10 additional sites surrounding the affected area and it is also interviewing patients and reviewing records to determine whether cases share a common exposure.
