YEKATERINBURG, Russia, July 30 (UPI) -- Three people have died and more than 100 others ranging in age from 18 to 81 have been hospitalized in Russia with Legionnaire's disease.
The outbreak is confined to an area some six miles from Yekaterinburg in the middle Urals region, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported Monday.
An official of the regional health ministry says all of the victims are local residents and most are showing improvement with antibiotic therapy.
Several medical centers in the area have sent specialists and equipment to the town of Verkhynaya Pyshma where the outbreak occurred.
Authorities say the infection likely was spread through the water supply system.
Legionnaire's disease is a type of pneumonia caused by breathing in mist from water that contains the bacteria Legionella.
If was first identified some 30 years ago when an outbreak of pneumonia occurred at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.
