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Sixth person dies in Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease outbreak
Gothamist • • general
Key Points:
- A sixth person has died in the Upper East Side Legionnaires’ outbreak, which has sickened 90 people since early July, with over 70 hospitalized and six still in the hospital.
- No new cases or symptoms have been reported since July 17, and city health officials believe the source of exposure has been eliminated.
- The outbreak is likely linked to a contaminated water-cooling tower on the Upper East Side, with 56 buildings in three ZIP codes testing positive for live Legionella bacteria.
- All affected buildings have been ordered to clean and disinfect their cooling towers, but further testing is needed to identify the specific source of the outbreak.
- This marks Manhattan’s second deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in two years, following a similar incident in Harlem last year that resulted in seven deaths.
