Fourth person dies amid Legionnaires' outbreak in NYC: Here are key symptoms
The outbreak began in late July in Central Harlem and has infected dozens. As of Thursday, 17 people had been hospitalized, according to the health department.
The Legionella bacteria, which causes the disease, was found in 12 cooling towers on 10 buildings. These included a city-run hospital and a sexual health clinic. Officials said 11 of the towers have been cleaned, and the last one is scheduled for cleaning by Friday.
Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that grow in warm water and spread through water systems in buildings. In this outbreak, the bacteria were traced to cooling towers that use water and fans to cool air.
Legionnaires' disease symptoms
According to the CDC, symptoms include cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, and shortness of breath, usually appearing two to 14 days after exposure.
Dr. Michelle Morse, the city's acting health commissioner, said new cases in Central Harlem are declining, which shows that the sources have been contained. She advised anyone in the area with flu-like symptoms to contact a doctor. For the first time, officials released the names of buildings linked to the outbreak. Mayor Eric Adams confirmed Harlem Hospital is among them.
Cooling towers are at these locations:
BRP Companies, Lafayette Development LLC, 2239 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
BVK, 215 West 125th Street
Commonwealth Local Development, 301 West 124th Street
CUNY City College Marshak Science Building, 181 Convent Avenue
Harlem Center Condo, 317 Lenox Avenue
NYC Economic Development Corporation, 40 West 137th Street
NYC Health Department Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic, 2238 Fifth Avenue
NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital, 506 Lenox Avenue
NY Hotel Trades Council Harlem Health Center, 133 Morningside Avenue
Wharton Properties, 100 West 125th Street (3 of 8 towers)
Officials said the cooling towers are separate from building plumbing, so the water supply is not impacted, according to an ABC7 news report. 'Residents can continue to drink water, bathe, shower, cook and use their air conditioner,' the city officials said.
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Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Fourth person dies amid Legionnaires' outbreak in NYC: Here are key symptoms
A fourth person has died amid a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City, officials said Thursday, per AP. They also confirmed that some cooling towers that tested positive for the bacteria are located in city-run buildings. Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that grow in warm water and spread through water systems in buildings. (Representative image)(Pexel) The outbreak began in late July in Central Harlem and has infected dozens. As of Thursday, 17 people had been hospitalized, according to the health department. The Legionella bacteria, which causes the disease, was found in 12 cooling towers on 10 buildings. These included a city-run hospital and a sexual health clinic. Officials said 11 of the towers have been cleaned, and the last one is scheduled for cleaning by Friday. Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that grow in warm water and spread through water systems in buildings. In this outbreak, the bacteria were traced to cooling towers that use water and fans to cool air. Legionnaires' disease symptoms According to the CDC, symptoms include cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, and shortness of breath, usually appearing two to 14 days after exposure. Dr. Michelle Morse, the city's acting health commissioner, said new cases in Central Harlem are declining, which shows that the sources have been contained. She advised anyone in the area with flu-like symptoms to contact a doctor. For the first time, officials released the names of buildings linked to the outbreak. Mayor Eric Adams confirmed Harlem Hospital is among them. Cooling towers are at these locations: BRP Companies, Lafayette Development LLC, 2239 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd BVK, 215 West 125th Street Commonwealth Local Development, 301 West 124th Street CUNY City College Marshak Science Building, 181 Convent Avenue Harlem Center Condo, 317 Lenox Avenue NYC Economic Development Corporation, 40 West 137th Street NYC Health Department Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic, 2238 Fifth Avenue NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital, 506 Lenox Avenue NY Hotel Trades Council Harlem Health Center, 133 Morningside Avenue Wharton Properties, 100 West 125th Street (3 of 8 towers) Officials said the cooling towers are separate from building plumbing, so the water supply is not impacted, according to an ABC7 news report. 'Residents can continue to drink water, bathe, shower, cook and use their air conditioner,' the city officials said.
News18
a day ago
- News18
Cholera is spreading rapidly in Darfur in worst outbreak in years
Agency: Cairo, Aug 14 (AP) Cholera is spreading rapidly in Darfur, killing 40 people and infecting more than 2,300 over the past week alone because of water shortages and a collapsed health care system have left communities vulnerable amid the ongoing war in Sudan, Doctors Without Borders said in a report Thursday. The group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, said that the outbreak was the worst the North African country has seen in years. As of Monday, a total of 99,700 suspected cases and more than 2,470 related deaths have been reported in Sudan since the cholera outbreak began in July 2024, according to MSF. While some vaccination campaigns that kicked off at the time managed to contain the disease, more people have been infected over the past few months because of poor hygiene measures and large numbers of people being displaced amid intensified fighting in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The civil war erupted in April 2023 in Khartoum before spreading across the country. The fighting between the Sudanese military, its allies, and rival paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, has killed more than 40,000 people, displaced as many as 12 million, caused disease outbreaks and pushed many to the brink of famine. The World Health Organisation describes cholera as a 'disease of poverty," because it spreads where there is poor sanitation and a lack of clean water. The diarrheal disease is caused when people eat food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is easily treatable with rehydration solutions and antibiotics, but in severe cases the disease can kill within hours if left untreated. Heavy rains worsened the situation by damaging sewage systems and creating stagnant water that became contaminated. 'The situation is most extreme in Tawila, North Darfur state, where 380,000 people have fled to escape ongoing fighting around the city of El Fasher, according to the United Nations," MSF said Thursday. The medical group added that Tawila Hospital was overwhelmed by around 400 cholera patients earlier this month, when it only had the capacity for 130 people. Many had to be treated on the floor. 'Overcrowding of the camps and the catastrophic hygiene condition are key factors," Sylvain Penicaud, MSF project coordinator in Tawila, North Darfur, told The Associated Press by phone. Recent displacement fuelled by the fighting is another contributing factor to the outbreak. People are forced to take water from contaminated sources such as community wells that are 'extremely dirty." The hygiene situation in Tawila is dire, he said. MSF plans to launch a vaccination campaign in Tawila as soon they receive 400,000 doses of cholera vaccine in coordination with WHO. North Darfur's capital city, el-Fasher, and its surrounding areas have seen repeated waves of violence recently. On Monday, the RSF attacked the famine-stricken displacement camp of Abu Shouk outside the city, killing 40 people and wounding at least 19 people. On Monday, the RSF denied targeting civilians in el-Fasher, but didn't mention attacks in Abu Shouk camp in a statement on its Telegram channel. The paramilitary accused Islamic Movement militias and 'mercenaries of the armed movements" of endangering the lives of civilians and using them as 'human shields in a desperate attempt to hinder" forces' advancements. 'The Rapid Support Forces reaffirms its commitment to continuing to open safe corridors for the departure of civilians from El Fasher to other, safer areas," the group said. (AP) GSP view comments First Published: August 14, 2025, 22:45 IST News agency-feeds Cholera is spreading rapidly in Darfur in worst outbreak in years Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
a day ago
- News18
Malnourished kids arrive daily at Gaza hospital as Netanyahu denies hunger
Khan Younis, Aug 14 (AP) The dead body of 2 1/2-year-old Ro'a Mashi lay on the table in Gaza's Nasser Hospital, her arms and rib cage skeletal, her eyes sunken in her skull. Doctors say she had no preexisting conditions and wasted away over months as her family struggled to find food and treatment. Her family showed The Associated Press a photo of Ro'a's body at the hospital, and it was confirmed by the doctor who received her remains. Several days after she died, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday told local media, 'There is no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was certainly no policy of starvation." In the face of international outcry, Netanyahu has pushed back, saying reports of starvation are 'lies" promoted by Hamas. However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric this week warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at the highest levels since the war began. The UN says nearly 12,000 children under 5 were found to have acute malnutrition in July — including more than 2,500 with severe malnutrition, the most dangerous level. The World Health Organisation says the numbers are likely an undercount. The past two weeks, Israel has allowed around triple the amount of food into Gaza than had been entering since late May. That followed 2 1/2 months when Israel barred all food, medicine and other supplies, saying it was to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken during its 2023 attack that launched the war. While better food access might help much of Gaza's population, 'it won't help the children who are severely malnourished," said Alex DeWaal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, who has worked on famine and humanitarian issues for more than 40 years. When a person is severely malnourished, vital micronutrients are depleted and bodily functions deteriorate. Simply feeding the person can cause harm, known as 'refeeding syndrome," potentially leading to seizures, coma or death. Instead, micronutrients must first be replenished with supplements and therapeutic milk in a hospital. 'We're talking about thousands of kids who need to be in hospital if they're going to have a chance of survival," DeWaal said. 'If this approach of increasing the food supply had been undertaken two months ago, probably many of those kids would not have gotten into this situation." Any improvement is also threatened by a planned new Israeli offensive that Netanyahu says will capture Gaza City and the tent camps where most of the territory's population is located. That will prompt a huge new wave of displacement and disrupt food delivery, UN and aid officials warn. Preexisting conditions The Gaza Health Ministry says 42 children died of malnutrition-related causes since July 1, along with 129 adults. It says 106 children have died of malnutrition during the entire war. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and its figures on casualties are seen by the UN and other experts as the most reliable. The Israeli military Tuesday pointed to the fact that some children who died had preexisting conditions, arguing their deaths were 'unrelated to their nutritional status." It said a review by its experts had concluded there are 'no signs of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon" in Gaza. At his press briefing Sunday, Netanyahu spoke in front of a screen reading 'Fake Starving Children" over photos of skeletal children with preexisting conditions. He accused Hamas of starving the remaining Israeli hostages and repeated claims the militant group is diverting large amounts of aid, a claim the UN denies. Doctors in Gaza acknowledge that some of those dying or starving have chronic conditions, including cerebral palsy, rickets or genetic disorders, some of which make children more vulnerable to malnutrition. However, those conditions are manageable when food and proper medical treatments are available, they say. 'The worsening shortages of food led to these cases' swift deterioration," said Dr. Yasser Abu Ghali, head of Nasser's pediatrics unit. 'Malnutrition was the main factor in their deaths." Of 13 emaciated children whose cases the AP has seen since late July, five had no preexisting conditions — including three who died — according to doctors. Abu Ghali spoke next to the body of Jamal al-Najjar, a 5-year-old who died Tuesday of malnutrition and was born with rickets, which hinders the ability to metabolize vitamins, weakening bones. In the past months, the boy's weight fell from 16 kilograms to 7 (35 pounds to 15), said his father, Fadi al-Najjar, whose lean face showed his own hunger. Asked about Netanyahu's claim there was no hunger in Gaza, he pointed at Jamal's protruding rib cage. 'Of course there's famine," he said. 'Does a 5-year-old child's chest normally come to look like this?" Skin and bones Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, Nasser's general director of pediatrics, said the facility receives 10-20 children with severe malnutrition a day, and the numbers are rising. On Sunday, a severely malnourished 2-year-old, Shamm Qudeih, cried in pain in her hospital bed. Her arms, legs and ribs were skeletal, her belly inflated. 'She has lost all fat and muscle," al-Farra said. She weighed 4 kilograms (9 pounds), a third of a 2-year-old's normal weight. Doctors suspect Shamm suffers from a rare genetic condition called glycogen storage disease, which changes how the body uses and stores glycogen, a form of sugar, and can impact muscle and bone development. But they can't test for it in Gaza, al-Farra said. Normally, the condition can be managed through a high-carbohydrate diet. Her family applied a year ago for medical evacuation, joining a list of thousands the WHO says need urgent treatment abroad. For months, Israel slowed evacuations to a near standstill or halted them for long stretches. But it appears to be stepping up permissions, with more than 60 allowed to leave in the first week of August, according to the UN. Permission for Shamm to leave Gaza finally came this week, and on Wednesday, she was heading to a hospital in Italy. A child died in her family's tent Ro'a was one of four dead children who suffered from malnutrition brought to Nasser over the course of just over two weeks, doctors say. Her mother, Fatma Mashi, said she first noticed Ro'a losing weight last year, but she thought it was because she was teething. When she took Ro'a to Nasser Hospital in October, the child was severely malnourished, according to al-Farra, who said Ro'a had no preexisting conditions. At the time, in the last months of 2024, Israel had reduced aid entry to some of the lowest levels of the war. The family was also displaced multiple times by Israeli military operations. Each move interrupted Ro'a's treatment as it took time to find a clinic to get nutritional supplements, Mashi said. The family was reduced to one meal a day — often boiled macaroni — but 'whatever she ate, it didn't change anything in her," Mashi said. Two weeks ago, they moved into the tent camps of Muwasi on Gaza's southern coast. Ro'a's decline accelerated. 'I could tell it was only a matter of two or three more days," Mashi said in the family's tent Friday, the day after she had died. Mashi and her husband Amin both looked gaunt, their cheeks and eyes hollow. Their five surviving children – including a baby born this year — are thin, but not nearly as emaciated as Ro'a. top videos View all DeWaal said it's not unusual in famines for one family member to be far worse than others. 'Most often it will be a kid who is 18 months or 2 years" who is most vulnerable, he said, while older siblings are 'more robust." But any number of things can set one child into a spiral of malnutrition, such as an infection or troubles after weaning. 'A very small thing can push them over." (AP) GSP (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 14, 2025, 20:45 IST News agency-feeds Malnourished kids arrive daily at Gaza hospital as Netanyahu denies hunger Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
