1 Dead, 8 Hospitalized In NYC Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak

NEW YORK CITY — One person died and eight more are currently hospitalized in a Legionnaires' disease cluster in The Bronx, health officials said.

Twenty cases have been detected as of Thursday in Highbridge in the West Bronx, according to a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene update.

Cooling towers in the area have been tested for bacteria that cause the disease, health officials said. So far, four towers tested positive for the bacteria and have been disinfected.

"Health Department staff are working to ensure that buildings in the cluster area are treated and conditions remediated quickly," said Ashwin Vasan, the city's health commissioner, in a statement.

Health officials will conduct outreach in the impacted area.

Most people exposed to Legionnaires' disease-causing bacteria do not get sick, but the infection can cause severe illness or death for people at higher risk, such as those with pre-existing chronic health issues, Vasan said.

The disease is a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella, officials said. The bacteria grows in warm water, such as in cooling towers, and Legionnaires' disease is only transmitted by breathing in water vapor.

People who feel flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches and cough should immediately seek health care, officials said.

The Legionnaires' cluster sprang up in early May and is centered around the 10452 and 10456 ZIP Codes, officials said.

More information about Legionnaires' disease and the cluster can be found here.