32 Sickened By October Legionnaires' Outbreak, City Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A fatal outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease that struck Washington Heights in October sickened a total of 32 people, a city Health Department Spokesman said.

The city Health Department's investigation into the outbreak is "nearing its conclusion," the spokesman said. A previous update from city officials regarding the outbreak occurred on October 11, when acting Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot revealed that 16 people contracted the disease, with one case proving fatal.

While the total patient count has doubled, there remains only one recorded fatal case, a city Health Department spokesman said.

Following the recent outbreak, city health officials tested cooling towers of 20 buildings in Washington Heights for signs of the Legionella bacteria, Barbot said in October. Preliminary test results at 11 buildings prompted officials to order the buildings to conduct biocide remediation. Preliminary results may indicate the presence of either dead bacteria or bacteria growth.

Buildings where the growth of Legionella bacteria is found are ordered to conduct a full cleaning and disinfecting of cooling towers.

The October outbreak was the second major Legionnaires' Disease outbreak of the year for Washington Heights. An outbreak that occurred over the summer sickened 27 people, killing one.

The summer outbreak — which ended in mid August — was traced back to The Sugar Hill Project, a high-rise building on St. Nicholas Avenue near West 155th Street. Officials ordered The Sugar Hill Project to clean and disinfect its cooling systems due to the building's proximity to the new outbreak. The cleaning was completed on Oct. 5, health 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 Legionella bacteria. 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. The city sees an average of 200 to 500 cases of Legionnaires' Disease each year, health officials said.

The disease cannot be spread from one person to another, city health officials said.

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