A fifth person has died in a New York City Legionnaires' disease outbreak, health officials announced Tuesday night. The New York City Health Department has confirmed the presence of Legionella bacteria in 34 cooling towers across 33 buildings in the Upper East Side, all of which are undergoing cleaning and disinfection. Officials have not yet identified the source of the bacteria responsible for sickening more than six dozen people over the past month.
No new patients have reported symptoms in the last 10 days, according to the health department. Eight individuals remain hospitalized, while 56 others have been treated and discharged. Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia, is treatable but has a mortality rate of about 10%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease is caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water and can be found in systems like cooling towers and hot tubs. Transmission occurs through inhaling contaminated water droplets, not person-to-person.
City authorities are cleaning and disinfecting a total of 82 cooling towers in 80 buildings. Inspections revealed traces of Legionella bacteria in the air-cooling equipment of some residential buildings, private schools, and museums in the affected neighborhood. This occurred despite recent regulatory updates that increased testing requirements and a budget allocation for more inspectors.
Some building owners have stated they are actively managing potential Legionella risks. The Guggenheim Museum, for example, reported that an external company tests and treats its cooling tower monthly. Jory Lange, an attorney representing individuals affected by a previous Legionnaires' outbreak in Harlem, expressed frustration, stating, "There’s no excuse for this to keep happening." He noted that New York has robust regulations in place.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin stated that the department's prompt response following the initial cases "saved lives." He added that an ongoing investigation aims to identify lessons learned to inform future policy updates and prevent similar outbreaks. Following the Harlem outbreak, the city authorized the Health Department to hire 23 additional Legionella-focused water ecologists and supervisors, aiming for a total of 56. The department currently has 35 staff members, with 14 more in training and orientation. The department reported conducting nearly 1,600 cooling tower inspections in the first half of the year, a 35% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.