Deadly Legionnaires disease returns to New York as two new cases are detected… after outbreaks sickened 117 and killed nine this year

A deadly lung disease has sickened two more people in New York City in at least the third cluster of infections to strike the metropolis this year.

Health officials at the NYC Health Department reported the cases, saying the patients were infected with Legionnaires’, a disease caused by the legionella bacteria caught from breathing in water vapor that triggers a severe form of pneumonia.

The cases were in Queens in the North Shore Towers Complex, which is situated in a park and 18-hole golf course off Grand Central Parkway. Both were reported within the last 12 months. 

In a release, health officials said they were now testing water systems at the apartment complex for Legionnaires’ legionella bacteria but added that the water in the buildings was still safe to drink.

No other buildings in the area have been linked to the suspected Legionnaires’ contamination so far.

It comes after a cluster of Legionnaires’ cases was reported in the South Bronx last month, which sickened 23 people and led to two deaths.

And another cluster of infections was reported in the Upper East Side in July this year, which sickened 94 people and led to 92 hospitalizations and seven deaths. 

Both clusters were linked to infected cooling towers. These towers have now been cleaned and neither outbreak is ongoing.

A spokeswoman for the NYC Health Department said in a statement to the Daily Mail: ‘We are evaluating the hot water system at an apartment complex in Queens after two residents were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. 

‘Legionella bacteria has not been confirmed and there is no risk to the surrounding community. 

‘It is okay to drink the building’s tap water, but North Shore Towers residents should follow the Health Department’s recommendations for safe water use.’

She added: ‘We will provide residents with updates and guidance as building complex management inspects and tests the water system.’

Larry Grossman, whose mother lives in the complex, expressed concerns for her safety. 

‘The building is full of elderly people, elderly and not well,’ Grossman told CBS News. 

‘My mom is 87 years old and she’s the healthiest, youngest one in the building,’ he added.

The complex contains 1,844 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. It also has its own power plant for electricity.  

Residents of the tower were first notified of the cases in a letter distributed Friday evening. 

It urges people over 50, smokers and those with chronic respiratory conditions or weakened immune systems to take extra precautions, including avoiding showers, as the illness is contracted by breathing in tiny droplets of contaminated water.

These groups are particularly vulnerable to severe Legionnaires’ disease because of their weakened immune systems which can reduce the body’s ability to fight off bacteria.

The Health Department also urged residents to seek medical care if they develop flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, muscle aches or a cough.

A source of the outbreak has not been confirmed, although officials say that the cooling towers are not thought to be the source of the infections.

In the Bronx outbreak last month, at least 10 cooling towers – including at Yankee Stadium, Lincoln Hospital and Boricua College – tested positive for the bacteria.

The Upper East Side was struck with a Legionnaires’ outbreak in July, where 77 cooling towers in 75 apartment buildings tested positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria.

Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person-to-person, instead only spreading via water droplets containing the bacteria released in water vapor.

People infected with the disease initially suffer from a headache, muscle aches and fever, before the disease also triggers a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, confusion or other symptoms.

In severe cases, patients can suffer from severe pneumonia and the potentially fatal complication sepsis, when the bacteria spreads to the blood. The disease kills about 10 percent of patients.

Doctors can treat the disease using antibiotics, although these drugs are most effective during the early stages of the disease and before its spread in the body.

Those who are over 50 years old, smoke or vape, have a chronic lung disease or a weakened immune system are at higher risk from the bacteria.

Nationwide, cases of Legionnaires’ disease have soared over the past two decades, rising from around 1,100 in 2000 to nearly 10,000 at their peak in 2018. 

That year, at least 719 deaths were recorded among cases captured by the CDC’s surveillance system.

Cases have also surged in New York City. The city recorded 216 cases in 2010, rising to a peak of 656 in 2018 – an increase of more than 200 percent.

 In recent years, the number has fallen from that peak and stabilized, with 438 cases reported in 2022.