Dr. Demetrius Daskalakis on outbreak response best practices and trust
Dr. Demetrius Daskalakis, a public health professional, describes best practices for Legionella response including fast action, clear communication, and decisive remediation. He urges oversight rooted in programmatic improvement and warns against treating public health workers as targets.
You may begin.
Good afternoon, and thank you, Chair Shulman.
I'm Dr.
Demetrius Daskalakis, a physician and public health professional who has helped lead responses to Legionella and other communicable disease emergencies in New York City and nationally.
First, I want to express my deepest sympathy to the families who lost loved ones and to every New Yorker who became ill or afraid during this outbreak.
Every death matters, every hospitalization matters, and every family deserves answers.
Legionella outbreaks are hard.
They move quickly, they require action before every answer is known, and they demand coordination among clinicians, epidemiologists, laboratorians, inspectors, building owners, communications teams, and community leaders.
Best practice is to move fast, communicate clearly, and act on evidence, identify possible environmental sources,
test cooling towers and other water systems, issue clinician alerts, tell residents what symptoms to watch for, and make sure people with fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, or confusion seek care.
When a Legionella positive cooling tower in the outbreak geography is associated with cases and Legionella is detected, the response must be decisive.
Remediation means taking the tower offline when indicated and fully
cleaning and disinfecting it.
A shock treatment or temporary biocide boost may reduce risk in the moment, but it is not the same as a complete remediation.
The goal is not symbolic action.
The goal is control of the outbreak and prevention of the next one.
I'm excited to be here today because oversight has a very important role.
But I urge that oversight be rooted in the spirit of programmatic improvement and outbreak experience.
Ask what worked, what did not, where regulations, inspections, reporting systems, communication, or resources can be strengthened, and how the city can respond even faster next time.
This is accountability, and it's also how public health gets better.
During an outbreak, trust is not a luxury.
It's a control measure.
Public health workers should be questioned, audited, and held accountable as they are being today by city council.
But they should not be treated as targets by clickbait-seeking media outlets that distort messaging from elected officials and health leaders while they're working to protect New Yorkers.
Thank you.
Your time has expired.
No, just finish, Demetri.
It's okay.
Go ahead.
Transparent communication and continuous improvement will save lives.
That should be the shared objective as elected officials and public health experts and practitioners continue to improve how our city responds to this ubiquitous health threat.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.