Legionnaires’ epidemic around New York City-revelation of the Legionella in cooling systems

Around Seven additional cases of Legionnaires’ disease are being investigated by the New York City Department of Health. After the outbreak this past summer that killed 12 people.

Legionnaires’ disease (Legionellosis) is a serious and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. Although not all cases of Legionnaires’ disease are severe, up to ten per cent of cases can be fatal.

There are over forty strains of Legionella bacteria but only a few cause diseases in humans. The strains that are most commonly associated with human disease are pneumophila and longbeachae.

Symptoms are usually similar to a severe ‘flu’ infection and include fever, headache (often severe), shortness of breath, muscle aches and pains and sometimes a dry cough.

From the time of infection with Legionella bacteria, it takes between two and 10 days for symptoms to appear. In most cases, symptoms begin after five or six days.

Looking at the mechanism of the disease it is indeed found naturally in the environment and thrive in warm water and warm damp places. They are commonly found in bodies of water, soil and potting mix.

People usually get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in Legionella bacteria in very fine droplets of water called aerosols.

Man-made water systems sometimes provide environments that let Legionella bacteria increase to large numbers. These man-made systems include showers, spa pools, fountains, and also cooling towers associated with air conditioning and industrial cooling processes.

Most people exposed to Legionella bacteria do not become infected. The risk of disease increases with age, especially amongst smokers. People with long term medical conditions that weaken the body’s immune system (such as cancer, lung disease, diabetes, and transplant recipients) may be at increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease.

Young people, especially children, rarely get Legionnaires’ disease.

You cannot catch Legionnaires’ disease from another person, or from drinking water contaminated by Legionella bacteria.

In that outbreak, which affected the south Bronx, at least 128 people got sick; a dozen of them died.

Since Saturday, environmental scientists have visited all cooling towers in the area to take samples in an attempt to project the source of the outbreak.

An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Tasnuva Rahim

I have been writing ever since I can remember, but that is because school made me do so against my will. Today here I am, standing strong because my mentors could see my flair which had undoubtedly mirrored in my school papers and the essays that never failed to amaze them. The strength of my words, the power of my insight and creativity is something I cherish very closely and I hope that someday it will be worth more than it is now. It is their encouragement and the faith that I had in myself taken me so many places, brought in so many surprises that I am grateful for them each and every day. I have worked for Dhaka tribune, written travel blogs collected from the time when I was working for an inbound travel agency. I have covered stories on cultures and norms of our country for a local lifestyle magazine Ice Today magazine. As of now I’m working as a freelance content writer and loving every moment of it.