Legionnaires’ disease: 150 workers deployed to test sites in the Bronx

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/08/legionnaires-disease-outbreak-new-york-test-sites

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State officials were deploying 150 trained workers to test Bronx cooling towers for traces of Legionnaires’ disease on Saturday, amid the largest outbreak in New York City’s history.

Related: Legionnaires' disease in New York: what is it and how does it spread?

Ten people have died and 101 have been sickened so far.

The bacteria have been found in five buildings within a few blocks of one another in the South Bronx. The victims were adults with underlying medical conditions. The disease is a form of pneumonia caused by breathing in mist contaminated with the Legionella bacteria.

State officials stressed that they were working in conjunction with the city health department. But their presence in the Bronx came a day after the long-simmering feud between Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York mayor Bill de Blasio ignited again, over their administrations’ response to the outbreak.