Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak In Lenox Hill: 1 Dead, 6 Others Sick, City Says

LENOX HILL, NY — One person has died and six others were hospitalized after contracting Legionnaires' disease in the Lenox Hill neighborhood, the city Department of Health announced Friday.

The city identified a cluster of outbreaks after the seven people fell ill with the disease in a span of 11 days, according to the Department of Health.

The person who died had "significant underlying health conditions" and was in their 90s, the Department of Health said. Four people are currently recovering in the hospital and two people have been discharged, city officials said.

"The Health Department has identified an increase and cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases in the Lenox Hill area," Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a statement.

"We have begun an investigation to determine the source of the cluster, focusing on cooling towers in the neighborhood. I urge individuals in this area with respiratory symptoms to seek medical attention right away."

The Department of Health will test water from cooling towers within a half kilometer radius of the outbreak, but did not say exactly where the outbreak occurred. The department did not immediately respond to a follow-up inquiry from Patch.

Legionnaires’ symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion and diarrhea and generally surface two to 10 days after contact with the bacteria Legionella. Common culprits in the spread of the Legionella bacteria include cooling towers, whirlpool spas, hot tubs, humidifiers, hot water tanks, and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems, the Department of Health said.

The disease cannot be spread from one person to another, the Department of Health said in a statement.

Traces of the Legionella bacteria were detected at an East Harlem NYPD precinct earlier this week.

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