The Legionnaires’ cluster that has gripped the Upper East Side for weeks has now claimed a fourth life.
City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin confirmed the fourth death early Monday evening, even as officials struck an increasingly optimistic note about the outbreak itself.
Advertisement
As we reported over the weekend when the toll reached three, the cluster centered in Yorkville has been climbing steadily since early July — but the newest death arrives alongside signs the worst may be behind the neighborhood.As of Monday, the NYC Health Department had logged 76 cases tied to the outbreak, with 53 people discharged from the hospital after treatment. The four deaths were announced on consecutive days: the first on Friday, the second Saturday, the third Sunday, and now the fourth on Monday.
“At this time, we believe any source of exposure has likely been eliminated. We have not seen anyone with new symptoms in over a week,” Martin said. “We are focused on inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive and enforcing our laws to their fullest extent.”
Officials say no new cases have been diagnosed since July 15, and that no one has developed symptoms in more than a week. All 76 buildings that were ordered to clean and disinfect their cooling towers have done so, according to the department. Investigators believe one or more of those towers released contaminated mist into the surrounding air.
“We believe that we have now eliminated the source of exposure,” Mayor Mamdani said.
The human cost is already drawing legal action. Attorney Ronald Katter, who spoke with NY1, said he represents the widow of an 88-year-old military veteran who died after spending two weeks in intensive care. The man, Katter said, was intubated and on a respirator, suffering from pneumonia and organ failure. Notably, his own apartment building tested negative for the bacteria and was not among those ordered to disinfect — a detail that underscores how far the contaminated mist may have traveled. Katter said he also represents another patient who lives outside the affected zone but regularly spent time on the Upper East Side.
Advertisement
Katter said identifying the responsible cooling tower will determine which building owner could face claims for pain, suffering, and wrongful death. “They’re looking to be made whole from the suffering they’ve experienced,” he said.Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by breathing in mist contaminated with Legionella bacteria, which can grow in the water systems of cooling towers. It cannot be spread person to person. Symptoms — fever, cough, and shortness of breath — typically appear two to 10 days after exposure, and health officials continue to urge anyone in the area with those symptoms to seek medical care promptly.
See our previous coverage here.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
