10 now dead in Legionnaires’ outbreak, as cases top 100

Between 8,000 to 18,000 people are reportedly infected with the disease in the U.S. annually.

CBS New York reports state officials have pledged additional resources to help fight the disease. — FACT BREAKOUT- No new deaths have been reported in the last day.

The mayor said the disease was a “persistent health problem” across the United States for years and has been “slowly and steadily growing all over the country”.

The disease is caused when water contaminated with the legionella bacteria is inhaled into the lungs.

Medical investigators have linked past outbreaks to public fountains, air conditioning systems, spas, showers and even the misters than keep fruit moist in supermarkets. All five towers have been disinfected. While the investigation into the source of the outbreak continues, here are some things you should know about the outbreak and the disease. So far, at least five such towers have been found to contain the legionella bacteria and were decontaminated.

According to ABC7NY, the following buildings had their cooling towers scrubbed after testing positive for the virus: Streamline Plastics Company, the Opera House Hotel, Concourse Plaza Mall, Lincoln Hospital and a Verizon office at 117 Street. There will also be a schedule of mandatory inspections, plus rules mandating a prompt disinfection if bacteria are found.

The Northeast Ohio death comes as New York City is dealing with an outbreak of the disease.

He continued, “Now, we remain confident that the source of these current cases has been remediated”.

Anthony DeVito, vice president of engineering for Chemicals Specifics, Inc.in Maspeth, said cleaning cooling towers is expensive and labor intensive.

The bacterium was named after an outbreak in 1976, when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion suffered from this disease.

“We have fewer new cases, people are seeking care promptly and getting treatment promptly”, she said. Those people are more susceptible to the illness. Health officials said, however, that this number could grow as the disease has an incubation period of 10 days and the last cooling tower disinfection was carried out August 3, although the outbreak has peaked and new cases have started to drop.