A deadly lung disease spread through toxic vapor in New York City has been detected in other neighborhoods, health officials have warned.
City officials this week announced that amid an outbreak in Harlem of Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia that spreads through bacteria lurking in warm water, the disease has been found in an apartment building in the Bronx.
Two residents have been sickened within the last 10 months, according to officials. No further information about the patients has been released.
The cluster, which is under investigation, was announced this week. The New York City Health Department said it identified that Parkchester South Condominiums in the Bronx has legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’, in its hot water supply.
Health officials said a building investigation is triggered when two or more residents test positive for Legionnaires’ disease within a 12-month timeframe and share a hot water system.
The building is now undergoing ‘extensive remediation’ to remove the bacteria, which could take months or years.
There is no risk to areas surrounding the building.
Meanwhile, the newest data shows 113 New Yorkers have been sickened by and six have died from Legionnaires’ in an outbreak across five zip codes in Harlem and Morningside Heights.
Health officials have found a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease in Parkchester South Condominiums in the Bronx (pictured here)
Legionnaires’ spreads through toxic vapor from cooling towers (stock image)
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Cases are up five percent from last week, and a sixth death has been reported. Hospitalizations, however, are down from 14 to seven.
Health officials said this week: ‘While legionella bacteria in the environment is common, Legionnaires’ disease is not a common disease.
Among the 8.5million people living in NYC, between 200 and 700 people are diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease each year.
‘Every case of Legionnaires’ disease is required to be reported to the Health Department, and our staff follow up on every report.’
Legionnaire’s disease mimics the flu before progressing to pneumonia, with patients suffering symptoms such as high fever, breathing trouble, and even mental confusion.
It’s caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water and can become airborne when water turns to steam. While the disease can also be spread by air conditioners, New York officials said they are not the source of the current outbreak.
Legionnaires’ is most severe in older people, smokers and those with chronic lung diseases.
The main outbreak in Harlem has been tied to cooling towers like the one pictured
Officials also said that while the number of infections in the main outbreak is still rising, the rate of new reported cases each week since the outbreak has started to slow, suggesting the bacteria has been contained.
No information has been released about those who have died or been hospitalized.
Infected patients initially suffer a headache, muscle aches, and fever that may be 104 Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) or higher.
Dr Omer Awan, a medical professor at the University of Maryland with a specialization in epidemiology, previously told DailyMail.com: ‘Legionnaires’ disease can appear and present similar to the common flu but can be serious and result in pneumonia, or infection of the lung.
‘Patients with the disease can have high fever, cough, body aches, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and sometimes altered mental state.’
At least two people in the building (pictured here) tested positive for Legionnaires’
In serious cases, patients can develop severe pneumonia, and the bacteria can spread to the heart and blood, causing the potentially fatal complication sepsis.
Patients die from the disease due to lung failure, septic shock, a sudden severe drop in blood flow to vital organs, or acute kidney failure.
Legionnaires’ affects 8,000 to 10,000 Americans every year and kills about 1,000.
Doctors can treat the disease using antibiotics, but they warn that treatment is most effective in the early stages before the infection has spread in the body. Patients are often hospitalized.
In milder cases, patients may also suffer from Pontiac fever, a condition causing fever, chills, headache and muscle aches that occurs when the bacteria do not infect the lungs.
This condition goes away on its own without treatment and causes no further problems, doctors say.
The New York City outbreak was first revealed on July 22, when the health department reported eight cases.
It has been tied to cooling towers in the Harlem area, including buildings that house a hospital and a Whole Foods grocery store.
The graph produced by the city health department does not include the most recent days due to standard reporting delays. All cases and deaths have been reported in five ZIP codes covering the Harlem, East Harlem and Morningside Heights neighborhoods
It follows a previous outbreak in July 2015 in the Bronx, which became the second-largest Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the US. Overall, a total of 155 patients were infected and 17 people died due to the disease from July to September that year.
The outbreak was eventually linked back to a cooling tower at the Opera House Hotel in the South Bronx, which had been contaminated with the bacteria and was releasing it in water vapor.
Dr Micheal Genovese, chief medical advisor at AscendantNY in New York City, previously told DailyMail.com: ‘Be alert for symptoms and tell the medical provider about the outbreak so they can test for Legionella. Avoid standing directly in mists or sprays from cooling towers, A/C vents, decorative fountains, or outdoor water systems in the affected areas.
‘Avoid public hot tubs and spas. Don’t smoke and keep your immune system strong with adequate sleep, hydration, and nutrition.’
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