The Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side has claimed its first life.
According to the NYC Health Department, the community cluster centered in Carnegie Hill and Yorkville has now grown to 71 cases, and one person has died in connection with the outbreak — the first fatality since the first cases surfaced in early July.
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The count has climbed steadily over the past two weeks. As we’ve tracked in our ongoing coverage, the city announced its first two cases on July 2, and the number has risen sharply since, along with the list of buildings ordered to clean cooling towers that tested positive for Legionella bacteria.The Health Department continues to focus the investigation on ZIP codes 10028, 10075 and 10128. Officials have stressed that this is not a problem with any building’s plumbing, and that people who live or work in the area can keep drinking tap water, bathing, cooking and running their air conditioners as usual.
Legionnaires’ is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria that grow in warm water systems. It does not spread from person to person, and it cannot be caught from drinking water or from air conditioning. Risk is highest for people 50 and older, smokers, and those with chronic lung conditions or weakened immune systems.
The Health Department is urging anyone who lives or works in the affected area — or has visited it since late June — and is experiencing flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, cough or difficulty breathing to contact a health care provider right away. For help finding care regardless of insurance or immigration status, residents can call 311 or 844-692-4692.
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