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Fifth person dies in NYC Legionnaires' outbreak, health officials say
USA Today • • general
Key Points:
- A fifth person has died in a Legionnaires' disease outbreak on Manhattan's Upper East Side, with at least 82 cases reported by New York City health officials.
- The source of the outbreak has been traced to cooling towers on buildings in the area, with 34 towers at 33 buildings testing positive for live Legionella bacteria; all affected towers have been cleaned.
- No new cases or symptoms have been reported in over a week, indicating that health officials believe the source of exposure has been eliminated through aggressive testing and remediation.
- Legionnaires' disease is a severe pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, commonly found in warm water systems like cooling towers and hot tubs.
- Symptoms include headaches, muscle aches, fever, coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, and confusion; people in the affected area are advised to monitor for flu-like symptoms.
