Community Responds to Legionnaire's Cluster in Washington Heights, Manhattan

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) –

A community meeting was scheduled for Thursday night after the New York Department of Health announced that he was investigating a cluster of Legionnaires' disease cases in Lower Washington Heights. People with Legionnaires' disease have been diagnosed in the past seven days. The cases all come from the same area of ​​20 blocks

All but one were hospitalized and one was fired. The age of individuals ranges from under 40 to over 80, but most were aged 50 and over. No deaths have been associated with this cluster.

RELATED: FACTS: What is legionnaire's disease?

Legionnaires' disease is a form of bacterial pneumonia. Older people are most at risk. The disease is potentially life-threatening but can be effectively treated by early diagnosis.

People contract Legionnaires' disease by breathing in water vapor containing bacteria. Health officials test the water of all cooling tower systems in the cluster area.

Adults with flu-like symptoms, cough, fever, or difficulty breathing should immediately contact a physician. "Do not get sick, people over the age of 50, especially those who smoke and suffer from chronic lung disease, are at greater risk," said Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett. "This disease is very treatable with antibiotics, I encourage all those who have symptoms of the disease to seek treatment early."

The Department of Health planned to hold a community meeting at St. Luke's AME, 1872 Amsterdam Ave Thursday evening at 7:00 am

Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia that is caused by Legionella bacteria, which grows in hot water. Symptoms resemble other types of pneumonia and may include fever, chills, muscle aches, and coughing. Most cases of legionellosis can be attributed to plumbing systems where conditions are conducive to proliferation of Legionella, such as cooling towers, hot tubs, hot tubs, humidifiers, water tanks hot and evaporative condensers of large air conditioning systems.