SYRACUSE -- Seven people in Onondaga County have come down with Legionnaires' disease over the past 10 days, and public health officials suspect they may have contracted the respiratory infection at a hospital.

County Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Morrow says all seven adults diagnosed with the disease were at Community General Hospital before falling ill, though the source of the outbreak has not been officially determined. Morrow says they have been hospitalized for treatment.

Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium, Legionella, that is found naturally in the environment and can lead to pneumonia. People are infected by inhaling water droplets containing the bacterium.