New York City is managing a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases on the Upper East Side that officials believe is tied to bacteria found in cooling towers. Towers on 76 buildings on the Upper East Side have tested positive for the bacteria, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Tuesday.
Outbreak Details
Pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria has been confirmed in 60 people this month, but no deaths have been reported. Fifteen people are now hospitalized, and 34 people have been discharged from the hospital. Generally, about 1 in 10 people who get Legionnaires’ disease will die, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cooling towers, used for refrigeration and general building cooling, expel building heat into the atmosphere by pulling outside air through warm water from a central chiller that gets sprayed over a fill material. As fans pull air through the water, a small amount evaporates, cooling the remaining water, which recirculates to take up more heat. People can get sick when they are exposed to vapor from those systems if there’s bacteria in it.
Response and Precautions
The department has tested 183 cooling towers identified as a potential source of bacteria in the affected ZIP codes and directed the owners of 76 buildings to drain, clean and disinfect those towers. Dr. Alistair Martin, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said Tuesday that owners of 57 buildings have confirmed that they’ve completed the required remediation. The remaining 19 are required to do so by Thursday.
Anyone who has been in the area in the past couple of weeks is advised to watch for symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, headaches, low appetite, confusion and diarrhea. Most people who are exposed to Legionella bacteria don’t get sick at all, but vulnerable groups can include people who are over 50, who vape or smoke, or who have weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions like diabetes or lung disease.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
