New York outbreak of deadly lung disease spread by air conditioners grows... as cases triple and another is dead
The patients were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, a bacterial infection caught from breathing in water vapor that kills about one in 10 people it infects.
The latest update brings the total number of deaths to two and cases to 58, and officials fear there are more patients in the city who are infected but undiagnosed.
The New York City Health Department warned Monday: 'People living or working in the area with flu-like symptoms, such as cough, fever, chills, muscle aches, or difficulty breathing, should contact a healthcare provider immediately.
'It is especially important for people at higher risk, including those ages 50 and older, cigarette smokers, and people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems, to get care if they have symptoms.'
All the cases have been detected in five ZIP codes covering the Harlem, East Harlem and Morningside Heights neighborhoods.
It is not clear how patients were infected, but officials have said that 11 cooling towers in the area have tested positive for the bacteria that cause the disease.
In previous cases, cooling towers have released water vapor contaminated with the bacteria; then, people walking outside the building have breathed it in, causing them to become infected.
It is unlikely that the cooling towers infected people inside their buildings because the vapor is typically released outside.
Legionnaires' disease can also be spread by air conditioning units if the bacteria contaminate water droplets within the system.
Officials have said there is no contamination of municipal water supplies and it is still safe to drink tap water and to bathe, shower or use water for other purposes. The disease is not spread from person to person.
No further details on the patients, including their names, ages, and how they were infected, have been released to date.
The five ZIP codes affected in the outbreak are: 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039.
Acting Health Commissioner Dr Michelle Morse said: 'Anyone in these ZIP codes with flu-like symptoms should contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible.
'Legionnaires' disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early, but New Yorkers at higher risk, like adults aged 50 and older and those who smoke or have chronic lung conditions, should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin.'
Legionnaires' disease is caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water and can become airborne if this is turned into steam.
Infected patients initially suffer from a headache, muscle aches, and fever that may be 104 Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) or higher. But within three days, they may experience a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and confusion or other mental changes.
In serious cases, patients can develop severe pneumonia, and the bacteria can spread to the blood, causing the potentially fatal complication sepsis. The bacteria can also infect the heart.
Patients die from the disease due to lung failure, septic shock, a sudden severe drop in blood flow to vital organs, or acute kidney failure, when these organs stop filtering waste from the blood.
Doctors treat the disease using antibiotics, but say these are most effective in the early stages before the disease has spread in the body. Patients are often hospitalized.
In milder cases, patients may also suffer from Pontiac fever, a condition causing fever, chills, headache and muscle aches that occurs when the bacteria do not infect the lungs. This condition goes away on its own without treatment and causes no further problems, doctors say.
The New York City outbreak was first revealed on July 22, when the health department reported eight cases.
All buildings that had units that tested positive for the Legionella bacteria were told to clean their systems within 24 hours.
It follows a previous outbreak in July 2015 in the Bronx, which became the second-largest Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the US.
Overall, a total of 155 patients were infected and 17 people died due to the disease from July to September that year.
The outbreak was eventually linked back to a cooling tower at the Opera House Hotel in the South Bronx, which had been contaminated with the bacteria and was releasing it in water vapor.
The largest outbreak was recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976, when 221 people were infected and 34 died after breathing in fumes released by the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel's cooling tower.
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