Climate Change Is Bringing Legionnaire’s Disease to a Town Near You

This story is originally It appeared on Vox and is part of the Climate Office’s cooperation.

Air conditioners work to additional work this summer, from these small windows units to the huge AC towers that serve the tightly packed residential buildings in the main cities. While they bring cold air relief, these duties also create dangerous bacteria conditions for spread and spread.

One of the diseases that bad bacteria in particular is currently spread in New York City using massive cooling units such as its vector: legionnaire. Bacterial pneumonia, which usually repeats every summer in the largest city in the United States, has caused the disease of more than 100 people and killed five in an increased outbreak.

If you do not live in New York City or Northeast, you may have never heard of legionnaire, but this public health threat may not be specialized for a longer period.

Climate change helps to make Legionnaire more abundant in the already existing places and creates the possibility of moving to new places in which the population may not be used to. Cities in the northeast and central, where the hottest weather in ancient infrastructure meets more cases in recent years. newly, Corps Bacteria have been discovered in the Nursing House of Nursing in Dearborn, Michigan – one of the states, along with Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Yistsen, which has witnessed more activity in the past few years.

Any person can contract legionnaire by inhaling small drops containing bacteria, symptoms – at all, headache, shortness of breath – within days. It can cause severe lung infection, with a death rate of about 10 percent.

While the most healthy people suffer from a few symptoms, children are most at risk, the elderly, pregnant women, and those who suffer from the immune system at risk – are at risk of the disease. About 5,000 people die every year in the United States of Legionnaire, and many of them live in low -income housing with outdated cooling equipment where bacteria can grow and spread easily.

Legionnaire is a mini image of the effect of climate change on low -income societies. Since the warmer temperatures facilitate the spread of the disease, the most socially vulnerable population will pay sharp prices.

Legion’s collision, climate change, and economic varying

Legionnaire was documented for the first time after unusually normal pulmonary inflammation during the US Corps Conference in Philadelphia in 1976. Corps. CorpsUnfortunately, everywhere – in tables, lakes and water pipes throughout the country.

But it usually occurs in these low concentrations and is very far that does not pose a threat to humans. usually.

Now, city health officials have found bacteria in large cooling tanks that serve huge residential buildings throughout New York City, especially in Harlem. Refreshing tanks are perfect places for the growth and spread of Legionnaire. It is full of warm, stagnant water that is more hostile to bacterial growth. Like an evaporation cooler, the systems convert warm stagnant water to the cold air of apartments. They can spray officers loaded with outdoor bacteria, and break up through the surrounding air, as they can enter my lungs when inhaled. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 80 percent of Legionnaire cases are linked to drinking water systems.