Legionnaires' outbreak hits New York as officials rush to test water towers

For the past few days, Justine Kirby has been sporting an N95 mask every time she leaves her house to walk in her quiet Upper East Side neighbourhood. She is keeping her apartment windows closed, too, as an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease grows to 46 cases, which the city has linked to contaminated water cooling towers. The cluster of Legionnaires' infections - a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria - has raised alarms among residents in the community, who packed a town hall in an Upper East side church this week to pose a series of questions to New York City's health department. "There is quite a level of concern in the community," Kirby said. "I'm the sort of person who likes to say that the risk may be small, but until the [cleaning and disinfecting] is done, I don't see much downside in taking these extra measures." As of Wednesday evening, 22 people who were sick had gone to hospital, some treated in the intensive care unit, health officials have said. Legionnaires' is caused by bacteria that grow in warm water, leading to flu-like symptoms that can sometimes be fatal without treatment and for those who are immunocompromised. The current outbreak is caused