What to Know
- Two residents of a single building in the Bronx have been sickened with Legionnaires’ disease, health officials say
- The city will evaluate the plumbing system of the building in the Fort Independence Houses in the Kingsbridge neighborhood
- Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium, can be contracted by breathing in contaminated water droplets
Two people who live in the same building in the Bronx have been sickened with Legionnaires' disease, health officials said.
The Health Department said it would evaluate the plumbing of the building in the Fort Independence Houses in the Kingsbridge neighborhood to look for evidence of Legionella bacteria. The building is part of the New York City Housing Authority. Health officials wouldn't specify which of the Fort Independence Houses was affected.
One of the cases was recent and the other was diagnosed in the last 12 months. Health officials said it wasn't yet considered an outbreak.
Both patients were at risk for Legionnaires' disease, health officials said. They have both been released from the hospital.
Health officials say they routinely evaluate buildings where two or more people contract Legionnaires' within one year.
Between 200 and 500 people get Legionnaires every year in New York City.
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Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium, can be contracted by breathing in contaminated water droplets.
It can’t be passed from person to person.
