5th person dies from UES Legionnaires' disease cluster
NYC Council criticizes Mamdani administration's handling of Legionnaires'
FOX 5 NY's political reporter Morgan McKay breaks it down.
NEW YORK - A fifth person has died from the Legionnaires' disease cluster in the Upper East Side.
5th death related to Legionnaires'
What we know:
New York City's Health Department released the update on its website.
NYC health alert: Legionnaires outbreak grows as cyclospora concerns spread
New York City’s health commissioner joins Good Day New York with updates on two public health concerns: the Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, where 76 buildings have tested positive for Legionella bacteria, and a cyclospora illness linked to contaminated fruits and vegetables. Officials explain how people can be exposed, who is most at risk and what steps residents can take to stay safe.
The backstory:
The city announced the first death associated with the cluster in Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods on Friday. The second death was reported Saturday.
Martin said city health officials remain confident the source of the Legionella exposure was eliminated after ordering 76 buildings with cooling towers in the affected zip codes – 10028, 10075 and 10128 – to undergo "aggressive remediation" and disinfect their systems on July 14.
"While we continue to investigate cases and closely monitor those in the hospital, we have not identified anyone with new symptoms for more than a week, and we are not seeing any concerning trends in emergency department surveillance data," 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."
What you can do:
The city continues advising anyone who spent time in the affected zip codes to seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms, which could appear up to 14 days after exposure.
The Source: This article includes information from the New York City Department of Health's website.