Disease

Legionnaires Disease Outbreak in Sydney, Australia

NSW Health is urging anyone who has visited the Town Hall area in the Sydney CBD and has symptoms such as fever, chills, a cough and shortness of breath to see their doctor after an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease.

Four men are in hospital with the disease, which is thought to have been contracted from air-conditioning systems in central Sydney.

Cooling towers in the area are being inspected as outbreaks are often associated with contaminated air-conditioning systems in large buildings.

Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by a bacterial infection of the lungs that can develop after someone breathes contaminated water vapour or dust.