7 now dead in NYC Legionnaires' disease outbreak

An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in New York City has claimed three more lives since Saturday, city officials said, with seven people now dead and a total of 81 cases reported, up from 65 over the weekend.

Since July 10, New York City Mayor's Office said, 64 people have been hospitalized with the disease; 28 have been treated and released.

Officials have said they are confident that the outbreak is limited to a handful of neighborhoods in the South Bronx where building cooling systems have tested positive for legionella bacteria.

The city said health officials had tested 17 cooling towers and found the bacteria in five. They disinfected all five water systems after inspectors found the bacteria at Streamline Plastic Co., Lincoln Hospital, the Concourse Plaza shopping center near Yankee Stadium, the Opera House Hotel and a Verizon office building.

The city said it would re-sample water on Monday and Tuesday. It required all of the sites to submit long-term plans to maintain their cooling towers.

City health officials have said New York's drinking water supply is unaffected by the disease outbreak and that fountains, shower heads and pools are safe as well. They also said home air conditioner units are unaffected. Walking into air conditioned environments is safe, as well, they said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday said the city was moving forward with "comprehensive cleaning and remediation of infected sites, treatment of those who have contracted the disease, and a vigorous public information campaign to ensure people know the facts."

But he said a more systemic solution was needed to prevent more outbreaks. A "comprehensive package" of new legislation would be announced this week, he announced, to halt future outbreaks of Legionnaires’, with emphasis on long-term prevention. Outbreaks of the disease "have become far too common over the past ten years, and the City will respond not by only addressing an outbreak as it occurs, but with a new plan to help prevent these outbreaks from happening in the first place," he said.

Legionnaires' disease is named after the 1976 outbreak at a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion that killed 34. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 8,000 and 18,000 people in the USA are hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease each year, but that many infections aren't diagnosed or reported, so the number may be higher. It is found more frequently in summer and early fall, but infections can happen any time of year.

If caught early, it can be treated. Symptoms include coughing, fatigue and confusion, but the disease cannot spread from person to person. Instead, people contract the disease when they breathe in mist or vapor from a contaminated plumbing system.

City officials said all seven victims were "older adults" who had "underlying medical problems" before contracting Legionnaires' disease.

Contributing: Melanie Eversley and Tyler Pager, USA TODAY