Health

Notice to Residents of Lenox Hill

The Health Department is investigating a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease in a section of Lenox Hill. Seven people have been confirmed with Legionnaires’ disease in the last 11 days. The risk to most people is low, but if you have flu-like symptoms, please see your medical provider.

What is Legionnaires’ disease?
Legionnaires’ disease (or Legionellosis) is a type of pneumonia. It is caused by bacteria (Legionella) that grow in warm water.

Is the disease contagious?
No. Legionnaires’ disease is not spread from person to person. People only get sick by breathing in water vapor containing the bacteria. People who are sick cannot make others sick.

Who is at risk?
Groups at high risk include people who are middle-aged or older—especially cigarette smokers—people with chronic lung disease or weakened immune systems and people who take medicines that weaken their immune systems (immunosuppressive drugs).

What are the symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease?
Symptoms are like the flu and can include fever, chills, muscle aches and cough. Some people may also have headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion or diarrhea.

What should I do if I think I have Legionnaires’ disease?
If you have flu-like symptoms, seek medical attention right away, especially if you have a medical condition that affects your breathing, like emphysema, or if you are a smoker.

What is the treatment for Legionnaires’ disease?
The disease is treated with antibiotics. Most people get better with early treatment, although they may need to be hospitalized. Some people may get very sick or even die from complications of the disease. That’s why it is important to get medical help right away if you develop symptoms.

If you would like more information, please join us for a Community Meeting at:
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
331 East 70th Street
Monday, June 19
6:30PM
RSVP

Or, visit nyc.gov/health or call 311

STATEMENT: Legionnaires’ Disease Cluster on Upper East Side

"Upper East Siders should be looking out for signs of Legionnaires: a cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches, and headaches. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should quickly seek medical attention," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "In 2015, following the outbreak in the Bronx I co-sponsored legislation introduced by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, which was signed into Local Law 77 of 2015 to require registration, inspection, cleaning, disinfecting, testing, and annual certification. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the individual who passed away. We are working with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to identify the source as quickly as possible."

For more information:
Health Department Investigating Community Cluster of Legionnaires' Disease in Section of Lenox Hill in Manhattan at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2017/pr051-17.page

New York, NY – In spite of policies and funding to provide public school students with access to dental, vision, substance abuse, reproductive health vaccines, and contraception in their public schools' actual performance goes unmeasured with some services provided onsite, others offsite, and others not at all.
 
“The city has policies in place to provide every health service they need and expect parents to be satisfied knowing they exist. I am concerned that the city is giving parents a false sense of security when the truth is that we don’t know which public school students have access to which services,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “We should know exactly which health services are available to which public schools so that we can ensure all 1.1 million public school students have access to the health services they need.”
 
Under legislation proposed by Council Member Ben Kallos for each healthcare area the Department of Education would have to report on the service offered, the location of services as onsite or offsite, cost of services to students, and the number of participants receiving services at each public school. The Department of Education would also have to set annual strategies to increase access, special initiatives, pilot schools, comparison of pilot schools to standard schools and compare year to year performance.