Frustration grows amid Legionnaires’ outbreak in the Bronx

Studies estimate between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized annually in the U.S. with the disease.

De Blasio slapped down the criticism, noting that public health experts, from the Centers for Disease Control to university specialists and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s health commissioner have lauded the city’s approach to the outbreak.

Three new sites inside the South Bronx impact zone tested positive – Chris’ Super Deli, a Conway store, and men’s shelter Pyramid Safe Haven. There have been 119 cases of human infection of Legionnaires’ disease in the South Bronx. The legislation will require registration, inspections, and testing on cooling towers, and will set fines for failing to comply.

Jeffries described the Health Department as being “caught off guard”. The spread of the disease can be through infected water systems such as cooling towers or through air conditioners and water sources for drinking and bathing, but it is not transferable from person to person. It has been disinfected and maintenance is being performed. The system was installed the week of August. 3 and activated this week.

“Working closely with the Department of Health, NYCHA moved swiftly to mitigate, remediate and reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ at the Bland Houses senior center and complex-since being detected and addressed, no additional cases have been reported”, a NYCHA spokeswoman said.

Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, de Blasio and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced that the state and city would jointly craft and institute uniform regulations to combat the Legionnaires’ outbreak. But they’ve said that routine cases that occur regularly across the city do not trigger such an effort.

St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway has not reported any patients with the disease, but started checking its cooling towers even before the city issued the directive.

“We have been aggressive”, Cuomo said about the state’s response.

Michael Graae/For New York Daily News Controller Scott Stringer believes New York City officials were not moving fast enough to tackle the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak.

“We are trying to gather information on what the situation is”, said Jenni Brewer Ligday, spokesperson for GSK.

In the latest test results released Wednesday – this time by the city and the state together – a total of 20 buildings both in and outside the outbreak zone have tested positive for the bacteria. Cooling towers pull heat from inside a building and then use water and an evaporation process to transfer the heat outside.