Victoria records 71 legionnaires’ disease cases and outbreak’s first death as search for source narrows

Chief health officer Clare Looker says woman in her 90s died after becoming ill on Tuesday as others in intensive care battle severe pneumonia

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Victoria has recorded 71 confirmed cases of legionnaires' disease and one person has died from the disease in an outbreak that authorities say they have narrowed down to two suburbs in Melbourne's west.

Victoria's chief health officer, Dr Clare Looker, on Friday confirmed the death of a woman aged in her 90s. She said the woman became ill on Tuesday evening and presented to hospital, where she died shortly after.

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