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Legionnaires' outbreak that has killed 7 in NYC potentially traced to Harlem Hospital, sources say

Chris Sommerfeldt and Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News on

Published in News & Features

NEW YORK — The current outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease — the second largest in New York City history — may have its origins in two city-run buildings, including Harlem Hospital, sources familiar with the matter tell the Daily News.

The outbreak, which killed its seventh victim on Thursday, has been traced to the two buildings in uptown Manhattan — Harlem Hospital and a building leased by the city’s Economic Development Corporation are being eyed in the outbreak, The News has learned.

Other sources are possible as well.

The mayor’s office declined immediate comment but said a briefing is planned for later this morning.

Earlier this week, PIX11 reported that the Legionella bacteria responsible for the disease was found at an FDNY Emergency Medical Service station inside the hospital, but NYC health department officials told the station that the discovery was “not related to the Health Department’s investigation of the Legionnaire’s cluster in Central Harlem and this does not pose a risk to the community.”

The news comes as tests for the Legionella bacteria in New York City’s cooling towers have, under the Adams administration, fallen to a post-pandemic low, according to reporting by Gothamist earlier this month.

 

The towers — which serve as evaporators for water coursing through the air conditioning systems of large buildings — can become an ideal environment for bacterial growth if not inspected and cleaned regularly.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia spread by inhaling Legionella bacteria from contaminated water vapor — it is not typically spread person-to-person, according to the CDC.

Infected people can be treated with antibiotics.

The city’s largest outbreak, which occurred in 2015, left 16 people dead and sickened 136.


©2025 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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