NYC Legionnaire's Outbreak Linked to Cooling Systems
Legionnaire's disease is caused by the Legionella bacteria
August 7, 2015 - An outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease has been reported in the South Bronx in New York City. To date ten people have died out of one-hundred diagnosed cases. More than half of the people diagnosed have been hospitalized. According to the Center for Disease Control, symptoms can take anywhere from two to fourteen days to surface. Common symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, a high fever, muscle aches and a headache. The disease has a fifteen-percent mortality rate.
Legionnaire's Disease is spread by aireborne water droplets, such as those emitted by fountains, showers (if their source of water is contaminated), and the cooling towers used to air condition large buildings. In fact, the water in five cooling towers in the South Bronx has tested positive for the bacteria: The Opera House Hotel, the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a Verizon office building, Streamline Plastics Company, and the Concourse Plaza Mall. Officials are still trying to identify the initial source of the disease.
The Legionella bacteria requires a wet environment to survive. In other words, you don't have to worry about it showing up in your residential cooling system, as these systems do not use water to chill the air.
