OSLO (AFP) -- The death toll from an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in two towns in southern Norway rose on Friday from eight to 10, health authorities said. The two new victims, aged in their 80s and 90s, died on Friday, the Oestfold hospital in Fredrikstad said. They were among the 53 people who have been contaminated so far by the Legionella bacteria in the small towns of Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg. "What's positive is that we haven't registered any new cases since yesterday (Thursday)," hospital spokesman Trond Degnes told AFP. "We hope that the epidemic is on the wane," he said, adding that one patient was still in critical condition.
 
The incubation period can be up to 20 days and few new cases have been reported in recent days. The Legionella bacteria can be fatal, especially for the elderly or those with weakened immune systems. The youngest victim in Norway was 69. The illness is characterized by severe pneumonia, headaches and a dry cough. Treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed in time, the disease is most easily spread through water sources, but only when the contaminated water is breathed into the lungs. The bacteria thrives in places like central heating, air conditioning systems, public baths and cooling towers. Health officials have not yet determined its source, but all cooling towers in the area were being inspected in a quest to find the culprit. In Norway's last Legionnaires outbreak in 2001, seven of the 28 people infected died.
 

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