Legionnaires' Outbreak in Harlem Kills 2 and Sickens More Than 50

New York Times

a day ago

Two people have died and more than 50 have been sickened in a fast-growing outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Central Harlem that has health officials still searching for the source more than a week after people began turning up ill.
Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium, which thrives in warm, stagnant water. In New York City, many of the outbreaks are caused by water vapor spewed from rooftop cooling towers. The bacteria can float along on water vapor for sometimes thousands of feet before someone inhales the pathogen and is sickened, researchers believe.
Most healthy people don't become sick after being exposed to the bacteria. But many people are vulnerable, including older adults, smokers and people with chronic diseases and compromised immune systems.
On average, about 200 to 500 people annually are diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease in New York, and they generally require hospitalization. Just over a dozen die each year.
The disease got its name from a 1976 convention in Philadelphia held by the American Legion, the veterans' organization, that resulted in a huge outbreak of mysterious pneumonia cases. Months later, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the cause: a never-before-identified bacterium, now called Legionella. Scientists quickly realized that it was responsible for tens of thousands of cases of pneumonia each year. The number has only grown.
New York has an especially high rate of cases.
Many cases trace back to mist emanating from cooling towers atop buildings, which play a critical role in cooling systems. Warm water is piped to the rooftop cooling tower, where fans cool the water through evaporation, sending the mist into the environment. If not properly maintained, the cooling towers can become incubators for the Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm, standing water.
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