Third Person Dies In Upper East Side Legionnaires' Outbreak As Cases Rise To 74

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A third person has died in connection with the Legionnaires' disease outbreak on the Upper East Side, as health officials said they believe the source of the community cluster has likely been eliminated.

The New York City Department of Health announced Saturday that the outbreak has now been linked to 74 cases of Legionnaires' disease. Eight people remain hospitalized, 51 have been discharged from the hospital and three people have died.

"It is with great sadness that I report a third person has died in connection with the Legionnaires' disease community cluster on the Upper East Side," Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said in a statement. "Our hearts are with their family and friends as they mourn their loss."

The outbreak has been concentrated in the Upper East Side ZIP codes 10028, 10075 and 10128, where the city spent the past two weeks testing cooling towers and ordering the disinfection of those that screened positive for Legionella bacteria.

Martin said officials have not identified anyone with new symptoms for more than a week and are not seeing "any concerning trends" in emergency department surveillance data.

"We believe the source of exposure has likely been eliminated due to our aggressive remediation and enforcement efforts," Martin said. "We will continue inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive and will hold accountable any owner who fails to comply with our public health laws."

Health officials are still urging anyone who spent time in the three affected ZIP codes to seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms, noting that Legionnaires' disease symptoms can appear up to 14 days after exposure.

The Health Department said it will continue investigating the outbreak and provide updates as they become available.

This is a developing story and will be updated. For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.