NY to deploy teams to help Legionnaires’ outbreak testing

“We do anticipate to see a baseline amount every year in the state, so this isn’t unusual for us to see”, said Reema Patel, a respiratory epidemiologist.

There are 10 confirmed deaths and at least 101 people have been infected in the South Bronx in this most recent outbreak.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state Department of Health would offer free testing of cooling towers and evaporative condenser units, where the bacteria also can hide.

“This is primarily a health crisis and must be handled as such”, Cuomo said, “but at the same time, we must address the needs and fears of our citizens to make sure they understand that the matter is under control”.

The symptoms – which include headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, chills, confusion and diarrhea – tend to appear between 2 to 10 days after significant exposure to the bacteria. It is being said that there could be tens of thousands of towers in the city. “A problem that has been slowing and steadily growing all over the country”, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

The mayor’s office assures us that “New York City’s drinking water supply and other water features, like fountains, showerheads, and pools, are safe” and “unaffected by legionella”.

There are many possible reasons for the increase, including a growing population of older adults, who are at higher risk for contracting the disease from contaminated water sources (the disease does not spread from person to person).

The testing will be done free of charge at the Wadsworth Center, which is located in Albany County.

Earlier this week, Bassett issued an order requiring that all towers citywide be tested and cleaned. The New York Daily News reported Friday that Marvin Montgomery’s attorney said he’s planning to file a lawsuit against the city Friday, and that in addition to being compensated for his injuries he wants to prevent future outbreaks.

Of the 17 cooling towers that city health officials have inspected for Legionella, five tested positive.

“There’s a limited number of companies that do this kind of work, so as you can imagine, we’re just getting swamped with panicky calls”, he told WCBS 880’s Marla Diamond. The outbreak was linked to air conditioner cooling towers in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel.

Mr. Bassett conceded, however, that the de Blasio administration has yet to determine why this Legionnaires’ outbreak was so deadly, far exceeding typical death tolls from the disease.

It hasn’t been almost as bad as the episode that gave the illness its name – the 1976 outbreak that killed 34 people who had attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.