Uptown Legionnaires' Outbreak Kills First Victim: Officials

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — An outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease in Washington Heights has become deadly, city health officials said.

The bacterial disease has sickened a total of 18 people in the "lower" Washington Heights area, and one of those people has died, health officials said. The person who died was older than 50, officials said.

The city Health Department first notified the public about the outbreak on July 11 and said that eight people had contracted the disease. Two days later, the number of sick rose to 14 but the outbreak still hadn't been deemed deadly.

The last recorded infection dates back to July 11, health officials said.

Health Department officials have tested 20 cooling towers of buildings in an area vaguely defined as "lower Washington Heights" and is saying that neighborhood residents can continue to use water as usual despite the rise in the number of people sickened by the outbreak.

The Health Department is warning people to be vigilant should they experience flu-like symptoms. The department listed the area of the outbreak as "lower Washington Heights," but did not provide details as to what that area entails. A Health Department spokeswoman told Patch that the department does not disclose the specific locations of outbreaks.

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 bacteria Legionella. 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, the Department of Health said in a statement.

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