Legionnaires’ outbreaks, often blamed on cooling towers, increasingly tied to

Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced the state and city would take the unprecedented step of jointly crafting and instituting uniform regulations to combat Legionnaires’ disease.

The medications produced at a GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical plant are safe despite the decision to close the factory after the discovery of the bacteria that causes potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease, the company said Wednesday. “It was found during routine testing, so we’re trying to get a better handle of how often those testings are conducted, also more details on whether product has been impacted and, if they have, what is our procedure in place to handle that”. “We anticipate resuming production in the next 72 hours after cleaning, disinfecting, and returning the plant back to normal operating conditions”.

It’s not clear what triggered the outbreak, which began last month.

Legionella bacteria is spread to humans when they inhale contaminated droplets of water so it is important to test water sources that could harbor the bacteria.

As of press time, city officials said there were 115 reported individuals with Legionnaires’ disease, 79 individuals treated and discharged and 12 deaths.

It’s especially risky for the elderly and for people with underlying health issues.

“This strong proposal will greatly help reduce the risk of another mass outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City“, said Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler. Any excess water lands in a catch basin, which is where bacteria can develop and grow. None of the air or water released by the cooling towers “come directly into the building or in contact with any of the products”, Ligday said.

“It’s less likely that can occur in an area that’s not as densely populated or doesn’t have a density of these types of apparatuses”, she said.

Tests revealed higher than normal levels of legionella bacteria in the hotel’s water system.

“The recent outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in the Bronx has shed a light on the preventive measures we must implement when faced with a public health crisis such as this. This action reflects our chief priority: to safeguard the health of New Yorkers“. On Thursday, officials updated the Albany County Department of Health website with information on Legionnaires’ disease. This package to systematically register and maintain cooling towers for the purposes of fighting Legionnaires’ Disease would be the first of its kind.

Police say one person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting in Brooklyn.