Source Of Lenox Hill Legionnaires' Outbreak Still Unknown: Reports

LENOX HILL, NY — After testing water cooling systems in Lenox Hill the city Health Department still cannot pinpoint the source of a Legionnaires' Disease outbreak that killed one neighborhood resident and sickened six other, according to multiple reports.

Health Department Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett met with concerned Lenox Hill and Upper East Side residents Monday night to provide updates on last week's Legionnaires' outbreak, ABC 7 reported. The department has tested more than 100 water systems in the neighborhood but cannot pinpoint a source until results come back, according to the report.

The tests were conducted Friday and results are typically returned in two weeks, officials said during the town hall, DNAinfo reported. Bassett said that the department believes the Legionella bacteria that caused the outbreak likely spread from mist emitting from cooling towers and not bathing or drinking water but admitted that the department "may never identify the source," DNAinfo reported.

One person died and six others were hospitalized after contracting Legionnaires' disease, the city Department of Health announced Friday. The city identified a "cluster" of outbreaks after the seven people fell ill with the disease in a span of 11 days, according to the Department of Health.

The person who died had "significant underlying health conditions" and was in their 90s, the Department of Health said. Four people are currently recovering in the hospital and two people have been discharged, city officials said.

Legionnaires’ symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and diarrhea and generally surface two to 10 days after contact with the bacteria Legionella. Common culprits in the spread of the Legionella bacteria include cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems, the Department of Health said.

During Monday night's town hall meeting Health Department officials said that those experiencing symptoms should be proactive and seek medical treatment, according to multiple reports.

The disease cannot be spread from one person to another, the Department of Health said in a statement.

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