. >> reporter: for 40-year-old ramel hagan, it was a 991 -- a 911 call that meant life or death. >> his sugar was up. they said it was some kind of bacteria and a bad strain of pneumonia. >> reporter: he was already in a medically induced coma by the time doctors figured out he had legionnaires disease, just in time to save him. the epidemic blamed for three more lives, the death toll rising to 7, with another 81 infected. so many people packed in to a town hall meeting on doctors had to go outside to answer questions from those who couldn't make it in. turns out even the experts are stumped. >> why this big of an outbreak with this many people who have suffered in just these neighborhoods? we don't know the answer right now. >> health officials say they've tracked the bacteria to mist from as many as five cooling towers. workers have decontaminated all five towers but it can take as long as 10 days between exposure and onset of symptoms. they expect more cases to emerge before the numbers finally fall. vivian says ramel has turned the corner. he's off the ventilator but it will be a lo

. >>> reporter: for 40-year-old ramel hagan, the call to 911 that made the ditches between life and death. by the time he arrived at the hospital, he was gave very ill. >> fever of 105.4, sugar was rupe. some kind of bacteria, bad strain of pneumonia. >> reporter: he was in a medically induced coma by the time they figured out he had legionnaires' disease in time to save him. >> scary. he is sick. >> reporter: the city blamed the bronx legionnaires epidemic to three more lives. the death toll rising to seven with 81 affected. so many people packed into a meeting that doctors had to go outside to answer questions from those who couldn't make it in. even the experts are sometime'd. >> why this big of an outbreak with this many people that suffered in just these neighborhoods? we don't know the answer. >> reporter: they tracked it to mist emitted from five so- called cooling towers across the south bronx like this one at lincoln hospital. workers decontaminated all five towers. it can take ten days between exposure and onset of symptoms. they expect more cases to emerge. >> reporter: vivian