Source: http://www.nytimes.com, September 28, 2015
By: Marc Santora

Seven people in the Morris Park section of the Bronx have Legionnaires’ disease, officials said on Monday, spurring an investigation into the potential source.

Dr. Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said that all seven patients had underlying medical conditions and are hospitalized.

The cluster of cases was unrelated to an outbreak of the disease in July and August that claimed 12 lives and sickened more than 120 people in the South Bronx, Dr. Varma said.

That outbreak spurred a host of legislative and regulatory efforts to help prevent the disease, including a new measure requiring building owners to conduct quarterly inspections of cooling towers, and to certify that their towers have been inspected, tested, cleaned and disinfected.

Dr. Varma said those new regulations had helped speed up the investigation into the flurry of cases in the Morris Park area.

The patients range in age from 45 to 75, but Dr. Varma, citing privacy concerns, declined to go into detail about their histories. Three of the patients lived in Morris Park, he said, and four others either visited or worked in the area.

Legionnaires’ disease is caused by the bacteria Legionella, which is present throughout the environment.

Every year, there are some 300 cases of the disease in New York City. Clusters like the one in Morris Park are more rare, with two to 10 such incidents tracked annually.

City officials asked that anyone living in the Morris Park area with flulike symptoms — including headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and diarrhea — consult a doctor.

It typically takes two to 10 days after significant exposure to the Legionella bacteria for symptoms to develop.

“Most cases of Legionnaires’ disease can be traced to plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for Legionella growth, such as whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, cooling towers and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems,” the health department said in a statement.

The outbreak this summer was traced to a contaminated cooling tower on top of the Opera House Hotel on East 149th Street.

Dr. Varma said none of the patients in Morris Park lived or worked in the same building.

He said that inspectors had taken samples from 35 cooling towers in the neighborhood and that they were being tested for the presence of the bacteria.

“It is possible that all seven patients were infected from seven different sources,” he said.

The first patient was identified on Sept. 21, and the department has issued a health alert to medical providers advising them to look for symptoms of the disease.

Health workers have also identified facilities with populations considered vulnerable to the disease and have dispatched staff members to answer questions and remind people to seek care immediately if they have symptoms.