The death toll from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak linked to contaminated air conditioner cooling towers in New York City has risen to five, health officials reported this week. The city’s health department has confirmed 82 cases on the Upper East Side, primarily in the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods.
Eight patients remain hospitalized, while 56 have been released, according to officials. Another thirteen individuals who tested positive did not require hospital care, and no new cases have been confirmed in the past six days.
What is Legionnaires’ disease and how does it spread?
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. People become infected by breathing in tiny water droplets containing the bacteria, often released from rooftop cooling equipment. The disease does not spread from person to person.
Symptoms include cough, fever, muscle aches, and shortness of breath. Although most people exposed to the bacteria do not become sick, the illness can prove serious for older adults, smokers, and people with weakened immune systems. About one in ten people who develop Legionnaires’ disease dies.
According to New York health officials, the outbreak is not linked to the city’s plumbing system, meaning residents can continue drinking tap water and using their air conditioners as usual.
Investigators traced the outbreak to rooftop cooling towers. Of the 183 towers tested across 160 buildings, 34 towers in 33 buildings tested positive for live Legionella bacteria during laboratory testing. Officials reported that every affected building has already been cleaned and disinfected.
New York Health officials fight air conditioner disease
Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said his department acted quickly after the first two cases were confirmed, ordering every building with a positive test to disinfect its cooling tower immediately. He said the city believes it has removed the source of the outbreak, although the investigation is still ongoing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended the city’s response amid criticism from council members. His administration, he said, combined faster screening tests with slower laboratory culture tests, allowing towers to be disinfected sooner than previous procedures would have allowed. Experts cautioned, however, that disinfecting every tower at once could weaken the equipment.
Council Speaker Julie Menin, whose district includes part of the affected area, said the health department responded too slowly and that families deserve answers. She noted that the fourth victim was a 32-year-old healthcare worker and pointed to a similar case of Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that killed seven people in Harlem last year under former Mayor Eric Adams.
Victim’s story and advice for NYC residents
Robert Goldstein, 88, a retired businessman and Air Force veteran, died on July 17, becoming the outbreak’s first fatality. His widow, Ida Goldstein, said she watched him suffer at Lenox Hill Hospital, blamed a negligent building owner, and plans to sue the owner of the cooling tower.
Officials believe the outbreak may now be under control. Anyone living in the affected zip codes who develops a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing is urged to contact a doctor immediately.
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