{"id":371450,"date":"2026-10-12T23:45:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T23:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371450\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T23:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T23:45:17","slug":"legionnaires-disease-on-staten-island-what-is-it-and-what-constitutes-an-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371450\/","title":{"rendered":"Legionnaires\u2019 disease on Staten Island: What is it, and what constitutes an outbreak?"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 At least two St. George residents have fallen ill with Legionnaires\u2019 disease<\/a>, and the New York City Health Department says the hot water system at Castleton Park Apartments on St. Mark\u2019s Place has tested positive for Legionella bacteria. <\/p>\n

So what exactly is Legionnaires? And what constitutes an outbreak? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <\/a>defines the disease as a type of serious pneumonia caused by breathing in small droplets of water that contain the bacteria Legionella. And while there is no single nationwide numeric threshold that automatically defines a Legionnaires\u2019 outbreak, public health officials generally begin an investigation when the following criteria are met:<\/p>\n

Two or more people develop Legionnaires\u2019 disease and are linked to the same source of exposure, such as a building, hotel, nursing home, hospital, apartment complex, or cooling tower.Cases occur within a similar timeframe, and epidemiologists identify a likely common source.<\/p>\n

According to the CDC, Legionella was discovered after an outbreak in 1976 among people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion. Those who were affected suffered from a type of pneumonia that eventually became known as Legionnaires\u2019 disease.<\/p>\n

Legionnaires\u2019 disease symptoms \u2014 which include cough, fever, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath \u2014 usually develop two to 14 days after exposure to Legionella bacteria but can take longer.<\/p>\n

Other symptoms, such as confusion, diarrhea, or nausea can also occur.<\/p>\n

Common sources of the disease include cooling towers on large buildings, hot tubs and spas, decorative fountains, large plumbing systems, shower heads and faucets or air-conditioning systems that use water for cooling. The disease is not usually spread person-to-person.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegionnaires\u2019 disease is treated with antibiotics,\u201d the CDC explains. \u201cMost people who get sick need care in a hospital but make a full recovery. However, about one out of 10 people who get Legionnaires\u2019 disease will die from the infection.\u201d<\/p>\n

People over 50, smokers, and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of severe illness.<\/p>\n

MORE BY JESSICA JONES-GORMAN<\/p>\n

In a health guidance sheet distributed to the affected building\u2019s residents, Andrea Howard, deputy commissioner of disease control for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, noted that her agency is working with building management to address the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk of getting sick from a building\u2019s water system is very low, especially for healthy people,\u201d the sheet said. \u201cLegionnaires\u2019 disease can be serious, but it is treatable with antibiotics. Get medical attention right away if you start having symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, or cough, especially if you are age 50 or older, smoke, vape, or have chronic lung disease or a weakened immune system, as these groups are at higher risk.\u201d <\/p>\n

Residents with questions about the outbreak are encouraged to leave a message with the NYC Health Department at 347-396-4161 or communityaffairs@health.nyc.gov with their name and contact information. Visit nyc.gov\/legionnaires<\/a> for more information on Legionnaires\u2019 disease and building evaluations. For help finding a healthcare provider, call 311 or 844-NYC-4NYC (844-692-4692).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 At least two St. George residents have fallen ill with Legionnaires\u2019 disease, and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-371450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}