7 people with Legionnaires’ disease have died in NY outbreak

[n2doc]

Source: Salon

The death toll from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has risen from four to seven people, city health officials announced Monday at a public town hall meeting of concerned residents.

“We are taking this very seriously,” Dr. Mary Bassett, the city’s health commissioner, told the audience.

More than 80 people have been diagnosed with the disease, which is caused when water contaminated with a certain bacteria is inhaled into the lungs. Of those sickened, 64 have been hospitalized, with 28 of them treated and discharged.

The seven people who died were all older and had other health problems, officials said.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/08/04/7_people_with_legionnaires_disease_have_died_in_ny_outbreak/

[question everything]

1. I thought that this was resolved years ago

I hope that NY health officials will increase their monitoring.

[valerief]

2. I think that was back when they funded public health. Now all that's funded are wars.

Funded but not budgeted. And sports stadiums.

[nichomachus]

7. It's not a funding issue/ nt

[valerief]

8. Updating infrastructure is free. nt

[nichomachus]

9. It's not an infrastructure issue

Updating infrastructure will do nothing. Legionella will still exist and it will still be in water sources, no matter how new the infrastructure is. Making this a political issue will do nothing.

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Legionella is widespread. It can not be resolved any more than staph can be resolved.

[Sunlei]

5. perhaps people with older drinking water systems should boil drinking/cooking water.

[nichomachus]

10. This has nothing to do with drinking water nt

[nichomachus]

6. No, you thought wrong

Nothing has been "resolved."

Legionnaire's Disease is caused by the pathogen "Legionella. It is close to ubiquitous. If you took water samples at random from all sorts of water sources, standing water, fountains, cooling towers, etc., you would find Legionella in about two-thirds of them.

There have been outbreaks from AC cooling towers, decorative fountains, hot tubs (Legionella loves hot tubs -- perfect temperature for it), misting system, those water sprayer things over the produce in supermarkets, unused showers (guest bathroom, vacation home, etc.).

One outbreak was traced to hot tubs on a high-end cruise ship. The tubs were rigorously maintained, but the pathogen grew in an area that the sanitizer didn't get to. Another outbreak was from a fountain at a flower show. And another from a hot tub display in a big-box store. And another from a supermarket produce section.

There are tens of thousands of cases a year (by estimate) and no one knows how many deaths.

We're all exposed to it all the time. The largest majority of us can fight it off. Prime risk factors are age, smoking, and compromised immune system. Usually it's only diagnosed when there's a cluster of cases. If a single elderly man goes into the hospital with pneumonia, they just treat the pneumonia. When six people from the same apartment complex go in, they start looking for Legionella.

The only thing that's been "resolved" about it is that it exists as a distinct disease. That original cluster was discovered in 1976 when the American Legion members (hence the name) were staying in the same hotel in Philadelphia for the Bicentennial. Being WW2 vets, they fit the profile of the susceptible population perfectly, elderly and many of them smokers. Some with compromised immune systems from other illnesses.

The disease existed before that, but was identified because there were 182 cases related to a single source.

[Sunlei]

4. all the older infastructure to move drinking water doesn't seem very safe in the older cities :(

[randome]

11. Call Dr. Gregory House!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Precision and concision. That's the game.[/center][/font][hr]