NEW YORK — A person has died from Legionnaires' disease in New York City, marking the first fatality in an outbreak that has infected at least 67 people on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Health officials, who have been tracking the cluster since July 2, said tests identified Legionella bacteria in the cooling towers of more than 75 buildings in the neighbourhood. The health department has ordered the cleaning of 76 buildings, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dozens of those infected have been hospitalised.
Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling contaminated water vapour, is fatal in roughly 9 percent of cases. The current outbreak follows a similar episode in Harlem in 2025 that killed seven people and sickened more than 100.