A second person has died from Legionnaires' disease in Barrow, hospital authorities confirmed on Friday.

The news of the woman's death comes just hours after health bosses said the number of new cases in the outbreak had peaked.

The woman, who was 56, died in the early hours of the morning. She has not been named.

Ian Cumming, the chief executive of the Morecambe Bay Hospitals Trust, said his thoughts and deepest sympathy went out to the woman's family.

Outbreak

There are now 94 people being treated for confirmed or suspected Legionnaires' disease.

Fifteen patients were in intensive care units across the north west with a further six in high dependency wards. Two are giving doctors cause for concern.

Health officials in Lincolnshire are investigating two cases of Legionnaires' disease.

One of these is thought to be linked to the Cumbrian outbreak.

Each year there are sporadic cases of the disease and health officials in Lincolnshire said they are noticing nothing unusual.

Obviously we are hoping we do not see any more deaths but it is too soon to be complacent

Ian Cumming

Mr Cumming said he hoped there would be no further deaths following the Barrow outbreak, but said this could not be ruled out.

"It is a very nasty disease and people tend to deteriorate very quickly.

"Obviously we are hoping we do not see any more deaths but it is too soon to be complacent."

Earlier this week police named the man thought to be the first victim of the outbreak as Richard Macauley, known locally as Gerry.

An inquest into 88-year-old Mr Macaulay's death was opened and adjourned on Tuesday by Furness deputy coroner Alan Sharpe.

However, it appears his death may not be linked to the current outbreak. Mr Macauley lived in a nursing home and had not been near the civic centre recently.

Mr Cumming believes the disease may have peaked

The incubation period for Legionnaires' disease is between five and 10 days. It cannot be passed from one person to another.

A week after the start of the bug's biggest UK outbreak in a decade, 110 people have now been confirmed as having the disease.

A total of 72 remain in hospital and 15 are being treated at home.

Richard Macauley died from the disease

Doctors say 19 patients are "poorly but stable" and five are giving cause for concern.

A further 56 have received hospital treatment after showing symptoms.

Nearly 50 are in hospital awaiting test results.

So far 1,400 people have been tested - over 1% of the population of Barrow-in-Furness, where the outbreak happened.

Fresh supplies of testing equipment have been flown in from the United States to cope with demand.

Fifteen patients are being treated in intensive care, with five at Furness General Hospital, five at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, two at Chorley Hospital, two at Royal Preston Hospital and one at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Operations cancelled

Furness General Hospital, Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Westmorland General Hospital, have cancelled all non-urgent surgery this week.

Ten ambulance crews and an air ambulance have also been brought in from other regions.

Mr Cumming said that although the outbreak appeared to have peaked: "We are by no means through this terrible time."

Most of those affected are from Barrow

He said: "From the cases we are seeing in the hospital we have reached a plateau."

Mr Cumming said the number of new infections was expected to now fall.

But he warned that with many of the patients in intensive care it could take several weeks for hospital services to return to normal.

Health minister John Hutton, who is MP for Barrow, praised healthcare staff, but added: "Everyone locally will want to know why this happened.

"There need to be answers, and there need to be answers as soon as possible."

Tests expected to identify the source of the outbreak as a 30-year-old air-conditioning system at the town's Forum 28 council-run arts and civic centre will be completed by the middle of next week.

Inquest

Initial inspections have suggested it may have been poorly maintained and not properly disinfected.

A council official has been suspended and police have been questioning other staff about maintenance at the centre.

There had been fears that the outbreak could claim as many as 20 lives when details first emerged on Friday.

But doctors said patients appeared to be responding well to treatment and the disease may not have affected as many as first feared.

Those worried they may have caught the disease are advised to consult their local GP, call NHS Direct or to ring the hospital on 01229 491222.