3 now dead in NYC Legionnaire's outbreak

The number of people who have died from Legionnaire's disease in New York City since mid July has grown to three, city officials said Friday, and a historic hotel joined the list of sites that contain the potentially deadly bacteria.

The owner of a Bronx movie complex said Friday the facility would remain closed until tests come up clean.

The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio released figures showing that the numbers of those affected by Legionnaire's, a severe form of pneumonia, had grown from 46 listed on Thursday to 57 on Friday. All three of the people who have died had underlying medical problems, city officials and said.

A third site, The Opera House Hotel, an historic hotel in the South Bronx that has featured performances by the likes of Harry Houdini and the Marx Brothers, also has tested positive for legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's, city officials said.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz noted that right now, the city has no mechanism for enforcing inspection of coolant systems, rooftop water tanks and standing water infrastructure that can be a "breeding ground" for Legionnaire's. Diaz said Friday he is working with members of the New York City Council and agencies affected by the outbreak to craft legislation to correct this.

"The city must create a new inspection system for these systems, just as we inspect other critical systems such as elevators," Diaz said.

Earlier this week, the mayor's office and the city Department of Health announced that cooling towers at the Concourse Plaza mall and movie complex, and Lincoln Medical Center, had tested positive for legionella.

The owner of Concourse Plaza movie complex, National Amusements out of Norwood, Mass., said the bacteria was detected in the cooling tower that serves the theater's air conditioning system.

"We immediately brought in HVAC and remediation companies and closed the theater early," the company said in a staetment released Friday. "It will remain closed until tests show that the remediation is complete in the tower which is isolated from the theater's air conditioning system and all other theater systems."

The company said that to its knowledge, no patrons or employees have been affected.

Legionnaire's can be treated successfully if caught early. Its symptoms include cough, fatigue and confusion.

The ailment first caught national attention back in 1976, when attendees of a Pennsylvania state American Legion convention in Philadelphia became sickened.

Legionnaire's cannot spread from person-to-person, but rather, people are sickened when they breathe in mist or vapor from a contaminated plumbing system.