4th person dies amid Bronx Legionnaire's outbreak

A fourth person was confirmed dead when city health officials released new details Saturday afternoon about the Legionnaires' disease outbreak afflicting the South Bronx. The number of people infected

News 12 Staff

Aug 2, 2015, 2:30 AM

Updated 3,418 days ago

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A fourth person was confirmed dead when city health officials released new details Saturday afternoon about the Legionnaires' disease outbreak afflicting the South Bronx.
The number of people infected has risen to 65. Of those, 55 patients have been hospitalized.
Doctors say the disease is not uncommon and is treated with regular antibiotics, but health officials are scrambling to figure out how it's spreading.
After initial investigations eyed water cooling towers as the source of the outbreak, officials have also pointed to a Verizon building and a plastic company's building as facilities contaminated with the legionella bacteria.
Local elected officials are drafting a plan to create a protocol for testing cooling towers in the future.
Bronx residents should seek medical attention immediately if they experience any symptoms, which include fever, cough, chills and muscle aches.
Experts say Legionnaires' typically only becomes fatal in people who have an underlying medical condition that creates other complications.