by Christopher Flores, staff reporter
After a severe outbreak in July and August that affected 71 people and killed 12, Legionella Bacteria reappears in the Bronx after it was disinfected. This bacteria, known for causing Legionnaires Disease is an infection that can spread and kill.
Legionnaires Disease is known to affect at least 20,000 people per year, and requires immediate medical attention if symptoms start developing. Symptoms include chest pain, fever, nausea, chills, shortness of breath, coughing, and headaches. Since this disease requires a medical diagnosis before confirming, it can lead to potential death if not found early enough.. Antibiotics that can treat Legionnaires include Azithromycin or Ciprofloxacin, two drugs known to treat bacterial infections. Recovery usually lasts between a few days to a week after being treated.
Since the incident in August, Legionella has found to be in 15 cooling towers in the Bronx. According to Legionnaires Bacteria Regrew In Bronx Cooling Towers That Were Disinfected, the disease has killed one person and sickened twelve. The bacteria has also been exterminated from these cooling towers. Further actions have been taken to prevent this from happening in the future. A new legislation has been passed that orders each cooling tower to be checked for bacteria every 2 weeks. In addition, it is also mandatory to have a new cooling tower be registered and checked.
However, some do not support the new actions taken. “New York City has a very limited income, and if De Blasio were to do this every two weeks, I can only see it negatively affecting the economy,” junior Tyler Metzler said.
However, others feel that the new actions will work temporarily.
“Nine out of 10 times, the disinfection will be effective,” Consulting engineer at Legionella Risk Management Inc Keane said, “But if the treatment program and risk management program isn’t in place after the disinfection, nine out of 10 times the bacteria will regrow again if it was there before.
