Second Manhattan Resident Dies as Legionnaires’ Outbreak Claims 88-Year-Old Victim
An 88-year-old Upper East Side resident has died, bringing the death toll to two in a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has infected 72 people since early July.
City health officials reported that a second fatality occurred in the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak affecting Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The victim, an 88-year-old retired businessman and Air Force veteran, died after being hospitalized with a high fever on July 2. Officials said the source of the Legionella bacteria appears to have been eliminated following a city-wide cleanup of cooling towers in the neighborhood.
Since the cluster was first identified in early July, 72 people have been infected, most of whom required hospitalization. All but nine patients have been discharged, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
"We are heartbroken to learn that another New Yorker has lost their life to Legionnaires’ disease," said Dr. Alister F. Martin, the city’s health commissioner.
The investigation has focused on rooftop cooling towers, which can harbor Legionella in warm, stagnant water and disperse contaminated droplets through fans. The city ordered 76 buildings on the Upper East Side to clean and disinfect their cooling systems earlier this month, and the number of new cases has declined sharply over the past ten days.
"He was just enjoying his retirement with his wife, and they were about to start a renovation for their apartment," said Ronald Katter, the victim’s attorney, noting the family’s wish to keep identifying details private.
Legionnaires’ disease typically affects older adults and individuals with weakened immune systems, and several hundred New Yorkers fall ill each year, with cases peaking in the summer months when cooling towers are in operation.