OTTAWA, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The mysterious illness at a Toronto seniors' home that has claimed 16 lives has been identified as Legionnaire's disease, public health officials announced Thursday.

    "The Legionnaires disease is confined to the nursing home because it's not transmitted from person to person. There have been no new cases of infection .. and it appears transmission of the virus has subsided," officials said at a press conference in Toronto.

    Legionnaire's disease is caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella. The bacteria got its name in 1976, when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion suffered from an outbreak of this disease, a type of pneumonia.

    Earlier in the day, the city's medical officer of health, Dr. David McKeown, said the virulent respiratory infection is no cause for alarm, noting that there are about 1,000 outbreaks of this type in long-term care facilities every year in Ontario.

    With no new cases reported in the last 24 hours, McKeown said that transmission of the illness is "slowing down and stopping."

    But he added that the death toll could yet rise further. "We have a lot of sick people in hospital still, and it's unfortunately possible that some of them may not survive," he said.

    Since the outbreak began on Sept. 25, 70 residents, 13 employees and five visitors have become ill. Of the 38 who remain in hospital, 34 are Seven Oaks residents, two are staff, and two were visitors to the nursing home located at the east end of Canada's largest city. Enditem