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3h ago

Upper East Side Legionnaires Exposure Declared Over After 92 Cases and Seven Deaths

The declaration marks the end of the 14‑day incubation window and sequencing is planned to seek a match between patient and tower samples by late August.

This electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Legionella pneumophila bacteria which are responsible for causing the pneumonic disease Legionnaires' disease.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin speaks at a town hall concerning the Legionnaires' disease cluster on July 7 in New York.
View of the Upper East Side of Manhattan where a Legionnaires' disease outbreak has killed seven people and sickened more than 90.

Overview

  • The New York City Department of Health said Friday that no new cluster-linked symptom onsets have occurred in two weeks and that the exposure period in ZIP codes 10028, 10075 and 10128 has ended.
  • The cluster sickened 92 people and killed seven, with 79 people hospitalized at some point and five still in the hospital as of July 30.
  • Health teams PCR‑screened about 183 cooling towers on roughly 160 buildings, ordered immediate draining and disinfection of PCR‑positive towers, and culture tests later confirmed live Legionella in 59 towers at 58 buildings.
  • Inspections of culture‑positive systems produced more than 110 violations including public‑health hazards, one unregistered tower at 300 East 83rd Street was cited and fined, and the city says all ordered remediations have been completed.
  • Whole‑genome sequencing of patient and tower samples is underway with results expected by the end of August and City Council oversight and enforcement reviews are planned to address compliance and inspection gaps.