Second victim dies from Legionnaires’ disease in Melbourne – as an urgent warning is issued over the worst outbreak in 20 years
- Second person dies from legionella
- Victoria struggles with worst outbreak in 20 years
A man has died from Legionnaires’ disease in Melbourne as the city of Victoria struggles with its worst outbreak in 20 years.
The man, in his 60s, contracted the disease on July 27 and died in hospital on Sunday.
His death follows the death of a woman in her 90s last Tuesday.
Victoria’s chief public health officer, Clare Looker, said the situation appears to be stabilising.
“We have certainly seen a decline in the rate at which reports are coming in and certainly a clustering of those symptoms and signs from those earlier dates,” she told the Herald Sun.
‘Hopefully we’ll see the tail end of the story.’
The number of confirmed or suspected cases currently stands at 77.
Authorities are still desperately searching for the source of the “unusual” outbreak of the disease in the west of the city.
A man has become the second Melbourne resident to die from Legionella disease as Victoria grapples with its worst outbreak in 20 years (stock image)
Elizabeth Hartland, director of the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, said the next few days would be crucial.
“This is a very serious outbreak for Australia, with such large numbers of people,” she said.
More to come.