What would you think if you heard that a disease called legionellosis or “legionnaires’ disease” was gaining momentum in the US? You would probably think that scientists had dug up something from the era of ancient Rome and that it had found its way to the US, and now Americans are suffering from something that appeared 2,000 years ago.
Accordingly, you should be outraged. What are the responsible state services that control the importation of various items from other countries thinking? How could this be allowed to happen? These are logical questions for every conscious American. In fact, legionellosis is an illness of a completely different origin. It exists not only in Europe, Africa, or Asia but also in North America. In particular, it has broken out in the Bronx. i-bronx.com will tell you more about legionellosis and its instances in the Bronx.
Legionellosis and its incidence
According to nbcnewyork.com, the disease was first discovered, named and studied after the events of July 21-28, 1976. The Pennsylvania American Legion held a meeting at the Bellevue Stratford in Philadelphia. Here, members of the organization began to fall ill with an unknown illness.
There were 221 cases and 34 deaths. Not only the people staying in the hotel were sick but also those who were close to them. What are the symptoms? First of all, it is fever and pneumonia. Scientists discovered that the illness spread through the hotel’s ventilation system. Since then, they began to study it and realized that there were cases of the disease in the summer of 1957 in Austin, Texas and in Pontiac, Michigan. The illness was called the “legionnaires’ disease” and since then they have been looking for a cure.
How to deal with the disease and its consequences
As mentioned above, the bacterium lives in air conditioners, ventilation systems, cooling towers, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, evaporative condensers of large air conditioning systems and generally places where there is water. Therefore, the State Department of Health has advised city residents to seek medical attention if they have signs of flu, cough, fever, or shortness of breath. The symptoms can resemble pneumonia. So, if you feel chilly or have muscle pain, you know what to do. Namely, do not self-medicate.
This illness can appear at any time of the year. But it is most common in warm weather, when the bacterium can multiply rapidly. The disease spreads through inhalation of contaminated water vapor, not through person-to-person contact.
The illness can spread rapidly in areas with high population density. That is why high-rise buildings are particularly dangerous places to live, as it can easily move through ventilation or cooling systems. The difficulty in preventing such cases is that there are several large tanks and many small ones in urban areas (183 cooling towers were inspected in 2015). This hinders attempts to identify the exact source of the disease.
Also, there is a connection between the cooling towers, so the bacteria can travel. Sanitary inspectors believe that strict protocols must be adhered to for operating, maintaining and cleaning cooling towers to eliminate the outbreak in the future.
The illness in 2015
Legionellosis has visited the Bronx more than once. In 2015, there was its largest outbreak. 138 Americans fell ill and 16 died. How did the bacterium get into American homes? The problem was in one of the Bronx’s municipal cooling towers (a structure that cools water with air. It is used mainly in industry and air conditioning).
A large number of cooling towers were tested and five tested positive: Lincoln Medical Center, Concourse Plaza shopping mall, Opera House Hotel, Streamline Plastics and the Verizon building. It was their improper maintenance that could have caused the spread of the bacteria. Scientists have analyzed samples of the disease and realized that cases of legionellosis may continue to occur.
One strain of the illness can slowly develop and spread. After this case, the city authorities stepped up preventive measures to avoid a recurrence of the illness. In particular, homeowners were required to check the water supply system for legionella bacteria.
Cases in other parts of NYC
In 2018, legionellosis was detected in Upper Manhattan. There, 18 people fell ill. In general, this disease is not something out of the ordinary. It affects 200-700 people every year, and this is only in NYC. The numbers are growing from year to year. But mostly the number of patients in one place is small. This means that it is limited to 1 house or business.
In 2021, there were also cases in Harlem, where 18 patients at a local hospital also contracted legionella after a water cooling tower at Harlem Hospital Center was contaminated.
To combat the illness, sanitary inspectors asked the community to check the water supply and cooling systems and disinfect them periodically.
Legionellosis in the Bronx
On May 25, 2022, the disease returned again. 1 person in the Bronx died and 18 others fell ill. This time, the spread of the illness was associated with 4 cooling towers in the Bronx neighborhood of Highbridge. Here, the bacterium Legionella pneumophila, which causes the disease, was found. It spread to such postal addresses as the Highbridge neighborhood and neighboring communities, 10452 and 10456.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan said that the illness is not dangerous for everyone. However, there are people at risk who need prompt medical intervention. In particular, they need to go to the hospital and take antibiotics. Otherwise, fatalities or chronic diseases are not uncommon. Therefore, if a person feels that he or she has the flu, but has no reason for it, it may be legionellosis.
Sanitary safety experts note that the disease can be spread where there are still old water cooling tanks on the roofs of buildings. They are reservoirs for bacteria. The illness can be treated. But it must be detected as early as possible.
In June 2022, the illness was overcome. It resulted in 2 deaths and 30 hospitalizations of Americans.
Lawsuit against the owner of the house
The disease was overcome, but its consequences were felt for a long time. The fact is that 2 Bronx residents, Anita Long and Khalid Fritz, sued The Doe Fund, an organization that helps homeless and ex-prisoners, after they contracted legionella. They accused the building owner of improperly maintaining the building and the water cooling system. After overcoming the illness, Fritz had to live in a rehabilitation facility and would need long-term home medical care.
Their lawyer said that it was a terrible thing to be sick with this disease. His clients got sick without even setting foot in the building that contributed to the illness. The lawyer also stated that the disease needs to be tested. It is also necessary to work more on eliminating infections that harm people.
How the illness returned in 2023
In August 2023, NYC authorities reported that the illness had returned. In particular, it was again detected in 2 buildings in the Bronx at 10 Richman Plaza. The water supply system at 10 and 20 Richman Plaza was assessed. However, there were no confirmed cases associated with the latter building.