{"id":1086,"date":"2025-08-05T19:13:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2025-08-05T21:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T21:07:50","slug":"deadly-bacterial-outbreak-infects-dozens-in-city-neighborhood-as-officials-sound-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/05\/deadly-bacterial-outbreak-infects-dozens-in-city-neighborhood-as-officials-sound-alarm\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadly bacterial outbreak infects dozens in city neighborhood as officials sound alarm"},"content":{"rendered":"

An outbreak of bacterial pneumonia<\/a> has infected dozens of people in New York City, according to health officials.<\/p>\n

A total of 58 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019 disease, a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two people have died, the NYC Health Department confirmed in an August 4 news release.<\/p>\n

DEATHS REPORTED AFTER LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE OUTBREAK AT SENIOR LIVING FACILITY<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The cluster of cases is concentrated in Central Harlem<\/a> and bordering communities (zip codes 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039).<\/p>\n

“Anyone in these zip codes with flu-like symptoms should contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible,” said\u202fActing Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse in the health department\u2019s alert.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Legionnaires\u2019 is usually found in lakes, streams and other freshwater environments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, it can grow and spread indoors via shower heads, sink faucets, hot tubs, water features\/fountains, plumbing systems and other water systems where conditions are favorable for the Legionella bacteria to grow, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n

HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASE SURGES IN SOME US STATES AMID REPORT OF POSSIBLE FATAL CASE<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When people swallow or breathe in droplets of water that contain Legionella, they can potentially become ill with Legionnaires\u2019 disease.<\/p>\n

The disease is not typically spread<\/a> from person to person, per the CDC.<\/p>\n

In the case of the New York City outbreak, the health department directed the state to perform remediation for 11 cooling towers that tested positive for the bacteria.<\/p>\n

“Legionnaires\u2019 disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early, but New Yorkers at higher risk, like adults aged 50 and older<\/a> and those who smoke or have chronic lung conditions, should be especially mindful of their symptoms and seek care as soon as symptoms begin,” Morse added.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of Legionnaires\u2019 disease usually show up between two and 14 days after exposure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The condition usually causes flu-like symptoms<\/a>, including cough, chills, muscle aches, fever or difficulty breathing.<\/p>\n

Some patients may also experience nausea, diarrhea and confusion, the CDC noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The nature of the symptoms is not necessarily what differentiates Legionella from other causes, but history of exposure from \u2018human-made reservoirs,\u2019 though this may be hard to discern early on in infection and\/or in an outbreak,” said Goodyear.<\/p>\n

Those who have any of these symptoms should\u00a0seek medical attention<\/u><\/a> immediately, the CDC advises.<\/p>\n

Groups at highest risk include smokers, people 50 and older, those with chronic lung disease and people who are immunocompromised, according to health officials.<\/p>\n

“Other risk factors include advancing age,\u00a0cardiovascular disease<\/u><\/a>, obesity and compromised immune systems,” Dr. Nathan Goodyear, medical director of Brio-Medical in Arizona, previously told Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diagnosis of Legionnaires\u2019 disease is made via chest X-ray, urine test and lab analysis of a phlegm sample.<\/p>\n

Most people with the disease will recover with a course of antibiotics.<\/p>\n

In some patients, however, serious illness can lead to lung failure<\/a> or death, per the CDC.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Around 10% of people who contract Legionnaires\u2019 disease will die from those complications \u2014 and the mortality risk rises to 25% for those who get Legionnaires\u2019 while staying in a healthcare facility.<\/p>\n

“Treatment needs to be early and aggressive,” Goodyear told Fox News Digital. “Legionella infection is an intracellular infection that requires\u00a0antibiotic treatment<\/u><\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Antibiotics that are appropriate for Legionella infection include Levofloxacin and Azithromycin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Therapy can be prescribed orally in healthy individuals \u2026 but intravenous antibiotics often prove to be the initial option for treatment secondary to the pathogenicity of the disease,” Goodyear said.<\/p>\n

Currently, there are no vaccines for Legionnaires\u2019 disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The best strategy to prevent infection is to reduce the growth and spread of the Legionella bacteria.<\/p>\n

For more Health articles, visit\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/i><\/a>www.foxnews.com\/health<\/u><\/strong><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

The CDC recommends that building owners and managers use a water management program to reduce the risk.<\/p>\n

To prevent serious illness from Legionnaires\u2019, Goodyear recommends that all\u00a0smokers kick the habit<\/u><\/a>, and also emphasizes the need to “aggressively support” chronic pulmonary disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An outbreak of bacterial pneumonia has infected dozens of people in New York City, according to health officials. A total of 58 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019 disease, a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella.\u00a0 Two people have died, the NYC Health Department confirmed in an August 4 news release. DEATHS REPORTED…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1087,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions\/1087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mississaugaoffice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}