Two people have now died from Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx, health officials said Wednesday.
The city’s health department said 24 people have been diagnosed since May 3rd, and four are currently hospitalized — the latest update on the cluster of cases in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx.
Four cooling towers in the area tested positive for Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria that causes the disease. The health department said the four towers have since been disinfected.
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by breathing in vapor containing the bacteria, which grows in warm water. Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches and cough. The disease can be treated with antibodies, but can be fatal for those who are considered high risk. It is not contagious.
The two people who died from the current cluster in the Bronx were over the age of 50 and had risk factors for severe disease, health officials said.
New Yorkers living or working in the area experiencing flu-like symptoms are advised to seek evaluation for both COVID-19 and Legionnaires’ disease. Smokers, people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune symptoms are especially at risk.
In 2015, an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease infected 138 people, killing 16. In response to the outbreak, the city passed a law requiring all building owners to register, maintain and test their cooling towers. In 2019, officials added an additional requirement for building owners to disinfect cooling towers once during the summer, when Legionella and other bacteria growth is most prevalent.
Last year, the city released a report that cited over 2,115 violations in 3,326 towers inspected in 2020.
