One person is dead and six others have been hospitalized due to their illness with Legionnaires’ disease over the past 11 days in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The woman who passed was in her 90s and reportedly had underlying health issues, says the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The source of the outbreak is not yet known, but cooling systems within a half mile radius of those who have fallen ill are being tested as possible sources. The results from the 116 cooling systems under investigation may take up to two weeks. Legionnaires’ disease is caused…
Residents of an assisted living facility on Staten Island have been informed of a single case of Legionnaires’ disease on the premises. The unidentified patient is a resident of The Brielle at Seaview, a non-profit assisted living community, and has been discharged from care. No further information about the patient has been released. The notification is part of a city-wide plan implemented after last year’s Bronx outbreaks. Part of the newly instituted plan involves notifying facilities with high-risk populations when one or more cases are reported. The Brielle, with its aging population, falls into this category, though health officials noted that…
Routine testing of Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital’s water system last month yielded positive results for Legionella bacteria in several parts of the hospital. Consequently, one patient at the facility developed Legionnaires’ disease. An employee stated on Wednesday night that the water containing the Legionella bacteria was within the hospital’s plumbing system. The hospital states they are taking action to eliminate the issue. Special filters have been implemented on sinks, shower heads, and ice machines throughout the facility. Water use has also been restricted. Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person to person, and can only develop as a result of…
Two individuals at the Rangel Houses in Harlem have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Regarding these two cases, the NYC Department of Health released a statement indicating that they are working with the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) to launch an investigation and test the water supply in one of the buildings within the public housing complex. The results of these tests will not be determined for a few weeks, and until then it is unclear whether or not the suspected building is the source of the Legionella bacteria that is responsible for these two cases. In an effort to…
Regulations that require managers to test cooling towers in New York City have gone into effect as of July 6, 2016. After last year’s deadly South Bronx outbreak, in which 138 residents were sickened and 16 died, investigators determined that a contaminated cooling tower was the source of Legionella bacteria. Emergency regulations were passed requiring property owners to register their buildings and perform tests for Legionella. These temporary measures calmed public concern and created a list of cooling towers in the Bronx area, which will be used by investigators in the future. Now these measures have been made permanent, and the New…
A pair of Legionnaires’ disease cases seem to have originated at the same apartment complex in Harlem. Two individuals who spent time at the Savoy Park Apartments on W 139th Street have been diagnosed with the disease over the past ten months; both have since recovered Investigators say that these cases should not be considered as part of an outbreak. Still, the city’s health department has been proactive in its response. These cases come in the wake of the deadly August 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ in the south Bronx, and health officials are on high alert. Once an investigation was…
The NYC Department of Health has announced a comprehensive plan to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City. Following the 2015 outbreaks in the South Bronx , Mayor de Blasio passed some of the nation’s toughest regulations on cooling towers. The city is now investing more than $7 million to enforce these regulations. Local Law 77, which focuses on preventative maintenance of the city’s 5,544 cooling towers, took effect on May 9, 2016. This law requires that cooling towers be registered with the city and that all cooling towers have plans in place to reduce outbreaks of…