LISBON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the Legionella outbreak in Lisbon has risen to four, the country's Directorate-General of Health (DGS) announced on Friday.
A 68-year-old woman died overnight and a 97-year-old woman died late on Friday morning. A 77-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman died on Monday.
A further 44 people have been diagnosed as infected.
The outbreak at the Sao Francisco Xavier hospital in Lisbon was first detected on Oct. 31. The bacteria's maximum incubation time is understood to be 10 days, meaning there ought not to be any new cases.
However the government refused to rule out further deaths, given that the bacteria attacks "very vulnerable sick people."
The majority of the diagnosed, like those who have died so far, are elderly.
Legionella is a bacteria that lives in water. The outbreak has been traced to the hospital's water system, but the exact source has yet to be determined.
In 2014, a Legionella outbreak in Vila Franca de Xira, a region east of Lisbon, infected 375 and killed 12.
