A second person has died after contracting Legionnaires' disease in Edinburgh.

The man, who was in his 40s, was from the Gorgie area of the city, which is at the centre of the outbreak.

It is understood the man had underlying health issues and was being treated at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The total number of confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease currently stands at 41. The number of suspected cases stands at 48.

So far, all of those infected have connections to the south-west of the city, where the outbreak is believed to have been caused by a cooling tower.

The exact source has not been identified and investigations continue.

One other man has died from the disease. He was named as 56-year-old Robert Air from the Seafield area of Edinburgh.

'Extremely sad'

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "My sincere condolences go to the family and friends of the patient who passed away in Edinburgh tonight in a case linked to the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the city. My thoughts are with them at this very difficult time."

She added that "despite this sad and tragic development it remains the case that we believe the outbreak to have peaked".

Dr Duncan McCormick, chair of the Incident Management Team and Consultant in Public Health Medicine at NHS Lothian, said his team realised that further deaths "were a possibility" but described the death of the second man as "extremely sad".

Legionnaires' disease is contracted by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated with Legionella bacteria.

Symptoms are mild headaches, muscle pain, fever, persistent cough and sometimes vomiting and diarrhoea.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-18453528