Six die, 111 infected in NYC Legionnaires’ outbreak

A recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Central Harlem killed at least six people and hospitalized another seven, New York City health officials reported Thursday. At least 111 people contracted the Legionella bacteria, according to officials. Infections most typically manifest as pneumonia. The respiratory disease in this case may have spread through the water infrastructure in the area. Legionnaires’ disease does not spread from person to person, and a sick person can’t infect others. Those infected develop flu-like symptoms within days of exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What’s causing it? Legionella bacteria grow in warm water, and the disease can spread when people contact that infected water either by drinking it or breathing in the vapor. Water sampled from 12 cooling towers across ten buildings in the outbreak area tested positive for live Legionella, according to an update New York released last week. Cooling towers function as a type of air conditioning system that uses water and fans to cool down buildings. A number of cooling towers on commercial buildings tested positive for the bacteria, including a city hospital, a The City University of New York science building, and a sexual health facility.

City officials conducted remediation efforts to remove the bacteria from all of the flagged cooling towers. Civil rights attorneyBen Crump filed a lawsuit earlier this week against two construction companies accused of causing the outbreak by negligence. Crump alleges the companies did not properly clean the stormwater from hospitals’ cooling towers and failed to protect workers and residents. This outbreak was completely preventable, and legal action must be taken to effect real change, Crump said at a Wednesday press conference. Harlem deserves the same protection and respect as every other part of Manhattan, he added.