Sixth Fatality Reported in Upper East Side Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak
The city health department confirmed a sixth death and a total of 90 infections linked to a suspected cooling-tower source, with no new cases since mid-July.
A sixth person has died in the Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, bringing the total death toll to six and the number of confirmed infections to 90 since early July, the city health department said. More than 70 patients were hospitalized, and six remain in the hospital, but officials report no new diagnoses after July 17 and no new symptoms for over two weeks. > "We continue to believe the source of exposure has been eliminated," health commissioner Dr. Alister Martin wrote on X.
The department attributes the outbreak to a contaminated water-cooling tower in the neighborhood and has been testing towers in three ZIP codes—10028, 10128 and 10075—stretching from Central Park to the East River. Tests have identified 56 buildings with live Legionella bacteria and additional sites with positive rapid PCR results, which detect both live and dead bacteria. All affected towers have been ordered to be drained, cleaned and disinfected, though further testing is needed to pinpoint the exact source.
City regulations require regular maintenance of cooling towers to prevent Legionella growth. This is Manhattan’s second fatal outbreak in two years, following a Harlem incident last year that killed seven people.