According to reports, health officials from New York State are ordering extensive inspections of cooling facilities in an attempt to stop New York City’s outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease from spreading. Reports say that as of Friday, the outbreak had taken lives of 10 people and infected 101.

During a press conference Friday afternoon, Commissioner of Health for New York State, Dr. Howard Zucker, said that the state and the city are working together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an attempt to curb the outbreak.

According to Zucker, it is undoubtedly a large outbreak in the Bronx, however this is a problem throughout the state and the governor is checking the condition statewide.

According to Dr. Mary Bassett, commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, “We want to be confident that every cooling tower in this city is clean. The city will be taking a lead for the nation in making sure our cooling towers are safe".

The respiratory disease is not communicable from person to person, however it spreads if one gets in touch with the bacterium Legionella.

The disease leads to pneumonia-like symptoms. The bacteria could flourish in warm water and turn out to be particularly dangerous when the water is changed into a mist, which can be breathed in. Previous outbreaks have been associated with air conditioning systems, public fountains, showers, spas and even the misters, which help keep fruit moist in stores.