Second Fatality Reported in Upper East Side Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak

A second person has died from the Legionnaires’ disease cluster affecting New York City’s Upper East Side, health officials said Saturday, as the number of new cases continues to fall. The latest fatality follows the first death reported the previous day.

City health data show at least 72 confirmed cases and more than 50 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, with nine patients still in the hospital as of Saturday night. Between July 10 and July 17, an average of one new case was reported per day, down from more than eight daily in the first week of July.

All identified victims have lived in the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods. The disease is caused by Legionella bacteria, which have been detected in 76 cooling towers on the Upper East Side and one on the Upper West Side. The bacteria can cause a severe form of pneumonia that is treatable with antibiotics if diagnosed early.

NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said, "> 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."

City officials ordered buildings that tested positive to clean and disinfect their cooling systems, completing required remediation by July 16. Martin added, "> 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."

The outbreak follows a year in which more than 250 cooling towers across the city were cited for Legionella-related violations, with over half of those citations in Manhattan.