State officials may not be able to nail down the exact source of the bacteria behind a growing number of cases of Legionnaires' disease in NiagaraCounty in New York as more patients diagnosed with the disease are using antibiotics, according to The Buffalo News.
According to the state health department, a total of 20 people in NiagaraCounty contracted the disease and two have died, according to the article.
The most common strain of the bacteria, Legionella pneumophila, was found in a cooling tower at Eastern Niagara (N.Y.) Hospital in September. Local officials said it is yet to be determined whether the strain found at the hospital caused the outbreak.
The hospital's cooling tower passed a test for Legionella in June, but failed the same test three months later. The tests became state mandated for all cooling towers every 90 days in August 2015 after an outbreak of the disease killed 12 people and infected 120 people in Bronx, N.Y. The outbreak allegedly occurred because of a cooling tower at an unnamed hotel, according to the article.
According to the CDC, Legionella is contracted from breathing in the bacteria. Most people who contract the disease, however, do not always fall ill. Those who do become sick tend to have compromised immune systems, according to the article.