Doc talks Legionnaires after 3 killed, dozens hospitalized from disease in NYC
5 on your health tonight. *** Legionnaires’ outbreak in New York City has killed 3 people and hospitalized dozens. So to refresh your memory, this disease is not contagious but instead spreads by inhaling bacteria contaminated water. And joining us now to discuss all of this is Doctor Ali Roger, chair of emergency medicine at Mass General Brigham. Thanks for joining us, Doctor. It’s great to see you. Question one right off the top. What, what would you, what would you make an ER doctor suspect that it is indeed Legionnaires’ disease? It’s *** great question, Ed. You know, so first of all, the fact is that Legionnaires’s typically develops an outbreak. So one of the things that we look at is whether or not *** patient’s been in an area with *** known outbreak and then has developed *** high fever or cough or shortness of breath. That’s one of the main things that we look for. And then we’ll do additional testing with chest X-rays and blood work once we suspect it. OK, so, so how is it ultimately diagnosed? I mean, you mentioned X-rays and then treated in the emergency room. Well, Erica, the good news is, first of all, and I’ll jump to the last part of your question first, Legionnaires’s is very treatable. There are antibiotics for it, it’s uncommon, but it is also very treatable. But the way that we test for it is to get *** chest X-ray. Sometimes we’ll go to *** CAT scan if we need to, and we’ll do blood work. There’s actually *** specific urine test that detects Legionnaires’s, and we’ll send that in the right patient population. So, so let’s break this down. What symptoms, Doctor Roger, mean that someone should actually go to an ER immediately? What should they look for? Yeah, no, this is really important, Ed, and this is really key. So if patients develop high fevers, cough, muscle aches, or shortness of breath, that’s really important, but especially if you’re having those symptoms, check your oxygen at home, we all still have those, those pulse oximeters from back during the pandemic. Check that if you notice your older family members having low oxygen or getting confused, get them to *** hospital right away, especially if they’re in the area of *** Legionnaires’ outbreak. Mhm. OK, Doctor Raja, thanks as always. Great to see you, Doctor Raja. Thank you. Thanks, Ed.
Doc talks Legionnaires after 3 killed, dozens hospitalized from disease in NYC
Updated: 5:49 PM EDT Jul 20, 2026
Dr. Ali Raja, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mass General Brigham, said Legionnaires typically develops in outbreaks. Doctors look at whether a patient was in an area with a known outbreak and if they have shortness of breath, high fever or a cough.
NEEDHAM, Mass. —
Dr. Ali Raja, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mass General Brigham, said Legionnaires typically develops in outbreaks. Doctors look at whether a patient was in an area with a known outbreak and if they have shortness of breath, high fever or a cough.