Bronx Legionnaires' Disease Cluster Updated Fact-Sheet 8/7/15

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DOHMH

Highlights

  • No new deaths have been reported in the last day.
  • Emergency department visits for pneumonia are decreasing in the South Bronx.
  • The one new reported case of Legionnaires' disease was diagnosed in prior days - not in the last 24 hours.

Cases

  • Individuals with Legionnaires' deceased: 10
  • All deceased individuals were adults with underlying medical conditions.
  • These patients are connected to the current cluster.
  • Reported individuals with Legionnaires': 101
  • Individuals with Legionnaires' hospitalized: 94
  • Of the 94, the number of individuals with Legionnaires' treated and discharged: 65

FAQ

  • New York City's drinking water supply and other water features, like fountains, shower heads and pools, are safe throughout New York City and are unaffected by legionella
  • Water towers are unaffected by legionella
  • Home air conditioner units are unaffected and walking into air conditioned environments is safe, as well.

Locations and Remediation

  • 17 cooling towers were tested
  • 5 locations tested positive, and all have been remediated. Health officials are confident that one or more of the five locations that tested positive was the source of the outbreak, and the risk has been removed through disinfection.
  • All sites will submit long-term plans as to how they will maintain the cooling towers to protect against any future growth of legionella – those plans are due Friday.
  • The Health Department convened a panel of experts in the field of infectious disease to discuss the work the City has done so far and to ensure that all the appropriate steps are being taken to find and eliminate the source of the outbreak.

Ongoing DOHMH Actions

  • Continued monitoring for new cases
  • Close collaboration with area hospitals
  • Disease detectives conducting epidemiological investigation
  • Interviews with all individuals reported with Legionnaires' to support source identification
  • Providing updates to elected officials and Bronx residents
  • Outreach to vulnerable populations – senior centers, homeless shelters, and other locations
  • Monitoring of disinfection of affected cooling towers

Community Affairs Unit

  • Hosting West Bronx Small Business meeting
  • Continued communication with local elected officials
  • Communication with local community boards 1, 2, 3, and 4
  • Hosting Town Hall on Tuesday, August 11 for area residents with Council Member Vanessa Gibson

NYC Emergency Management:

  • NYC Emergency Management's Situation Room remains activated to support the City's response to Legionnaires' Disease in the Bronx.
  • Managing the Cooling Tower Task Force with dozens of representatives from NYCEM, Housing Preservation and Development, Department of Environmental Protection, and City Hall to prioritize buildings for cooling tower canvassing, track the progress of cooling tower sampling, and monitor cooling tower disinfection processes.
  • Operating a call center to handle public reporting of possible cooling tower locations; Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members will assist in the call center beginning Thursday.
  • Hosting multiple daily interagency calls to coordinate operations.
  • Coordinating and mapping data to ensure that all agencies are working with real-time, up-to-date information.
  • Will continue distributing health information at events throughout the week.