One person has died in connection to the recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, city officials said Wednesday.
On September 28th, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that seven cases of Legionnaires’ were found in the Morris Park area of the Bronx. The patients infected with the disease are aged between 45-75 and have underlying health conditions. The Department of Health stated that all cases have onset dates before September 21st.
The number of confirmed cases have grown from 10 on Tuesday to 13 in total on Wednesday. Currently, eleven people are hospitalized and one has been discharged.
Health officials said these cases are not connected to the Legionnaires’ outbreak that affected South Bronx neighborhoods last month; which claimed 12 lives and infected more than 120 people.
As of Tuesday, officials stated that 35 cooling towers in the area were sampled on Saturday and Sunday, and 15 cooling towers came back with positive results:
- 2725 East Tremont – Chase Bank
- 1740 Eastchester Road – Calvary Hospital
- 2964 East Tremont – Lehman High School
- 1500 Waters Place – Bronx State Psychiatric
- 1199 Sackett Ave – Einstein College
- 1845 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
- 1301 Morris Park Ave – Einstein College
- 1250 Morris Park Ave – Einstein College
- 1865 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
- 1925-1935 Eastchester Road – Einstein College
Two of the cooling tower locations are in Community Board 10, with the rest being inside of Community Board 11.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Photo courtesy of Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
After last month’s outbreak, legislation was approved that mandated a citywide cleaning and disinfection of all cooling towers. All of the cooling towers listed above were found with the bacteria despite being previously cleaning on August 6th.
Legionellosis is an infection caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella, and is a more severe form of pneumonia. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can include: fever, chills, muscle aches, loss of appetite, headache, tiredness, and cough. Symptoms usually appear 2 to 14 days after exposure.
Community residents are encouraged to attend a Town Hall Meeting about Legionnaires’ Disease tomorrow night (October 1st) at 8 p.m. at Maestro’s Caterer’s in the Bronx. The location is 1703 Bronxdale Avenue, on the corner of Van Nest Avenue.
Senator Jeff Klein’s office is also fielding questions and concerns about the outbreak which residents can reach at (718) 822-2049.
For more information on Legionnaires’ Disease, please refer to our Legionnaires’ Disease Primer, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website, or Legionella.org.
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