The death toll linked to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City has risen to 10, according to The New York Times.
Additionally, The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reports a total of 108 cases linked to the outbreak, and 92 have been hospitalized. According to the department, all of those who died were older adults who had additional underlying medical problems.
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Officials have traced the cause of the outbreak to air conditioning cooling towers on five buildings. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier this week that all of the infected sites are required to submit long-term plans as to how they will maintain their cooling towers to protect against any future growth of Legionella, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease. Those plans are due Friday.
Additionally, health officials issued an order Thursday requiring all New York City buildings with cooling towers to inspect and disinfect the units for the bacteria within the next two weeks, the NYT reported. Meanwhile, the Mayor is expected to announce a legislative plan that will tighten the regulation of the cooling towers.
If the legislative plan is adopted, it would make New York City one of the first jurisdictions to impose standards for cooling tower testing and maintenance, according to the report.
Despite acknowleding that the city has not dealt with an outbreak of this scope before, Mayor de Blasio said that officials are confident the outbreak has been contained.
[This article was updated on Monday, Aug. 10 at 11:45 a.m. Central time to reflect the latest information.]
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