A sixth person has died in the Legionnaire’s disease outbreak in Central Harlem, the most deaths since a 2015 Bronx outbreak that claimed 16 lives, according to an update Thursday by the city health department.
The new death, one more than reported on Wednesday, came as the number of those sickened by the disease also inched up, from 109 to 111, according to the city. Seven remain hospitalized, down from nine on Wednesday, according to the city.
City health officials have said since last week the outbreak is on the wane, but that the number of those stricken could continue to grow as more people seek treatment and earlier cases are confirmed as Legionnaire’s disease. The disease spreads through contaminated water droplets and vapor from water-cooling towers typically found on rooftops.
The city has said 12 water-cooling towers in Harlem, scattered across 10 properties, tested positive for Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease. Remediation of all 12 towers, some connected with Harlem Hospital and other government operations, was completed Aug. 15, according to the city.
Gothamist previously reported that nine of the buildings at the center of the outbreak had towers that were either behind on required testing by owners or had not been inspected by the city in the past year, officials said. Under a 2017 law, the towers are supposed to be inspected every three months.
The unit in charge of the inspections lost a third of its staff since 2022, despite a 30 percent boost in funding, according to the Independent Budget Office.
Acting city Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said earlier in the week that public health lab experts are still working to identify, through DNA sequencing, where specifically the recent outbreak originated from.
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