A second person has died and 58 others have fallen ill amid an outbreak of legionnaires\u2019 disease wreaking havoc in the Harlem area, New York City health officials announced.
\n
\nIt marks an increase from previous figures released by the New York City Health Department on Thursday, when there was a total of 22 reported cases and a single death linked to the growing cluster.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Monday, acting New York City health commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse urged anyone in the area suffering from flu-like symptoms to \u201ccontact a healthcare provider as soon as possible.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is especially important for people at higher risk \u2014 including those ages 50 and older, cigarette smokers, and people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems \u2014 to get care if they have symptoms,\u201d Morse added.<\/p>\n
Legionnaires\u2019 disease is a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria legionella, which grows in warm water. According to the New York City Health Department, it \u201ccan be caused by plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for legionella growth, such as cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems.\u201d
\nAnd while it cannot be passed from person to person, it can be contracted by breathing in any contaminated water vapor.<\/p>\n
The New City Department of Health is investigating the cluster.
\nSince the outbreak was initially detected on July 25; crews have repaired \u201cthe 11 cooling towers with initial positive screening results showing the presence of Legionella pneumophila, a type of bacteria that causes Legionnaires\u2019 disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
The outbreak of legionnaires\u2019 disease in New York City’s Harlem area has resulted in two deaths and 58 reported cases, with health officials urging those with symptoms to seek medical attention. The cause of the outbreak is still under investigation, but it is believed to be related to contaminated water sources. Residents are advised to take precautions and seek medical help if they experience any flu-like symptoms.<\/p>\n
Legionnaires\u2019 disease is a type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria legionella, which grows in warm water.<\/p>\n
It can be contracted by breathing in any contaminated water vapor.<\/p>\n
No, it cannot be passed from person to person.<\/p>\n
The symptoms of legionnaires\u2019 disease are flu-like and include cough, fever, and shortness of breath.<\/p>\n
People at higher risk include those ages 50 and older, cigarette smokers, and people with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems.<\/p>\n
The New City Department of Health is investigating the cluster, and crews have repaired the 11 cooling towers with initial positive screening results showing the presence of Legionella pneumophila.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legionnaire\u2019s Disease Outbreak in New York City Introduction to the Outbreak A second person has died and 58 others have fallen ill amid an outbreak of legionnaires\u2019 disease wreaking havoc in the Harlem area, New York City health officials announced. It marks an increase from previous figures released by the New York City Health Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dailynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25217487211936.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,920&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19439,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19436\/revisions\/19439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}