New York City health officials announced Saturday that a second person has died from a Legionnaires' disease cluster on the Upper East Side. Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and indicated that the recent decrease in new cases suggests the source of the outbreak has likely been eliminated.
This marks the second fatality linked to the outbreak, with the first death reported Friday. The cluster has resulted in at least 72 confirmed cases and over 50 hospitalizations. As of Saturday night, nine individuals remained hospitalized.
Officials observed a sharp decline in new cases, with an average of one new case reported daily between July 10 and July 17, a significant drop from the more than eight cases per day reported in the first week of July. All identified victims of this outbreak reside in the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville.
"While we mourn this loss, the data are also encouraging. Our aggressive strategy of testing, enforcement, and remediation appears to have stopped the source of exposure," Dr. Martin stated.
The disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, was detected in 76 cooling towers across the Upper East Side and one on the Upper West Side. City officials mandated that all buildings with positive screening results clean and disinfect their cooling tower systems as part of the investigation. These required remediations were completed by July 16.
"We will continue inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive and will hold accountable any owner who fails to comply with our public health laws," Martin added. This year's outbreak follows previous incidents, including one in Harlem last year that caused five deaths and sickened 114 people. Since last year, over 250 cooling towers citywide have been cited for Legionella testing issues, with more than half of those located in Manhattan.