Climate change bring Legionnair’s disease to a city near you

This story is originally appeared on Wok and part is Climatic table Cooperation.

Air conditioners operate overtime this hot summer, of these small units for solid AC electric tower, which serve a firmly packaged residential building in larger cities. And while bringing relief of cold air, these contraceptions also create conditions for dangerous bacteria to multiply and spread out.

One particular nasty disease fighting is currently spreading in New York, using these huge cold units as its vector: Legionnaire disease. Bacterial pneumonia, which is usually repeated by every summer in the largest US city, got sick More than 100 people and killed five in breeding outbreaks.

If you don’t live in New York or Northeast, you may never hear about Legionnaire, but this niche public health threat may not be much longer.

Climate change helps to make Legionnair diseases and abounds in places where there is already and creates the potential to move to new places where the population may not get used to it. Cities in the northeast and the Midwest, where the weather meets the older infrastructure, reported more cases In recent years. Recently, Legionella Bacteria was discovered In the plumbing system of nursing in Derbor, Michigan-one of the countries together with Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Visconsinit has seen more activities in the last few years.

Anyone who can arrange Legionnair’s disease by inhalation of small drops containing bacteria, and symptoms-fever, headache, lack of breath – appear within a few days. May cause a serious pulmonary infection, with The death rate of about 10 percent.

Although healthy people often experienced several symptoms, more vulnerable-small children, older, pregnant women and those with vulnerable immune systems faced a serious danger than disease. About 5,000 people enter each year in the United States of Legionnaire’s disease, Many of them Live in low-income housing with outdated cold equipment in which bacteria can rise and expand more easily.

Legionnaire’s disease is a microcosm of the influence of climate change to low income communities. As hot temperatures make it easier to expand the disease, the most endangered vulnerable population will pay the oldest price.

Collision of legionary diseases, climate change and economic differences

Legionnaire’s disease was the first documented After an unusually aggressive pneumonia breaking out in the American Legion in Filadelphia in 1976. Soon, the centers for scientists for diseases confirmed the cause of mysterious disease: previously unknown bacteria that is focused on Legionella. LegionellaUnfortunately, it’s everywhere in streams, lakes and water pipes across the country.

But usually occurs in such low concentrations and so remote is not to be a threat to people. Usually.

Now the city health officials found bacteria in large refrigeration tanks that serve massive residential buildings throughout New York, especially in Harlem. Cooling tanks are ideal places for legions to grow and expand. They are filled with stagnant, warm water that is a hospitable growth of bacteria. Like the vapor heat sink, the systems are converted a hot stagnant of water into cold air for apartment residents. They can splash fogs swollen bacteria in open air, dispersing it over the surrounding air, where it can enter the lungs of a person when inhaling. Toward Environmental Protection Agency80 percent of cases of legionnaire are connected to drinking water systems.