1 dead, 6 hospitalized amid outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in inner-Sydney

SYDNEY, July 31 (Xinhua) -- One person died and six more were treated in hospital amid an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in an inner-Sydney suburb, the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) said in a statement on Thursday.

Seven people from Potts Point, an affluent inner-city suburb less than two km from the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House, have contracted Legionnaires' disease since May.

The cases include a man aged in his 80s who became ill in late June and has since died.

The remaining six people were hospitalized for treatment. Five have been discharged and the sixth is recovering.

None of the patients, all of whom were aged between 45 and 95, were known to each other but may have been exposed to a common source of infection in the area, the SESLHD said.

Legionnaires' disease is caused by infection with the Legionella bacteria. It cannot spread between people but a person can become infected by inhaling water particles from a contaminated source.

The SESLHD in June advised anyone who had been in Potts Point to be vigilant for symptoms, including fever, chills, shortness of breath and a cough.

The district's public health unit director, Vicky Sheppeard, said on Thursday that health authorities and the City of Sydney are investigating and testing all potential contaminated water sources in the areas visited by the seven patients.

"The district has requested building owners disinfect their cooling towers on two occasions since the investigation began in June," she said in a statement. ■