Storied Bronx hotel source of Legionnaires outbreak
The deadly outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in New York is over, health officials say, with a historic Bronx hotel finally confirmed as the source of the outbreak.
The strain found in 25 people who contracted the disease, some of whom died, came from the cooling tower of the Opera House Hotel, said health commissioner Mary Bassett.
"We eliminated the danger posed by the Opera House Hotel’s cooling tower as soon as it tested positive for disease-causing Legionella," said Bassett.
Today, all cooling towers in the affected area have been disinfected, and all cooling towers across the city are being evaluated and disinfected if necessary."
The disease caused the deaths of 12 people and sickened more than 100 in the last month.
The South Bronx hotel dates back over 100 years and hosted performances by Harry Houdini, the Marx Brothers and George Burns in the past.
The hotel’s cooling tower is just two years old and has been routinely cleaned since learning it was a possible source for the outbreak.
The city enacted new laws as a direct result of the outbreak requiring testing of all cooling towers every 90 days, although the hotel said it will test its cooling system every month.
"Given the recent events, we have decided to be especially cautious going forward," the hotel said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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