Seven people believe now died in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the South Bronx,and at least 81 people believe become infected, according to city health officials.
At a town corridor assembly Monday night, or Bronx residents questioned the source of the disease: Why was more not done to preserve and monitor cooling towers for the Legionella bacteria?People became infected by inhaling contaminated mist from cooling towers that sit on therooftops of buildings in the area. It is up to building owners,city officials said, to clean cooling towers according to industry standards. "Is this negligence through maintenance?" asked Patricia Yates to city health officials. She asked if someone would be at fault for failing to properly clean and maintain the structures.
Mary Bassett, or the city's health commissioner,said that it was too soon to tell if the five cooling towers that tested positive for Legionella in the Bronx were contaminated because of poor maintenance."But we believe been looking at ways in which we can sustain better track of the maintenance these cooling towers," she said.approximately 250 people filled a assembly space at the Bronx Museum of the Arts to ask questions; nearly 100 more residents could not fit inside, or a few doctors from the city's health department stayed external to provide information and hear concerns.
Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement Monday night,saying new legislation would be announced this week related to preventing future outbreaks of the disease."The comprehensive package will address inspections, new recommended action in the case of positive tests, and sanctions for those who fail to comply with new standards," he said.
Source: wnyc.org