NYC Legionnaires’ disease outbreak kills fourth victim, 76 cases reported

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City killed a fourth person as 76 cases have now been reported in the city, city health authorities announced Monday.

The outbreak, which city authorities have linked to a series of cooling towers in Upper East Side buildings, has hospitalized 60 people, 53 of whom were discharged while seven remained in the hospital, according to authorities.

The fourth death announced Monday follows a first death from the disease on Friday. City officials announced two additional deaths over the weekend.

Legionnaires disease comes from live Legionella bacteria infecting a person’s lungs. While, according to New York City health authorities, most people exposed to the bacteria don’t get sick, infection can cause a severe form of pneumonia that can be fatal.

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“Symptoms typically develop two to fourteen days after exposure and include fever, chills, muscle aches, shortness of breath, and cough. Legionnaires’ disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics when diagnosed early,” New York City’s Health Department wrote in a statement.

City officials discovered the recent outbreak on July 2, and quickly tied it to a series of cooling towers in 31 different buildings in the city. 

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After testing 180 different cooling towers, the city found live or dead Legionella bacteria in 31 buildings. The city, in a statement, stressed that the discovery of dead bacteria in some buildings did not necessarily mean people in that building were ever exposed to the disease. 

The city ordered the following buildings, which includes the building that houses the vaunted Guggenheim Museum at 1071 Fifth Ave., to initiate a deep clean and disinfectant of their cooling towers “out of an abundance of caution.

• 180 East End Ave.
• 1750 York Ave.
• 1660 Second Ave
• 1438 Third Ave.
• 1511 Third Ave.
• 1551 Third Ave.
• 1071 Fifth Ave.
• 1080 Fifth Ave.
• 1001 Fifth Ave.
• 240 E. 82nd St.
• 8 E. 83rd St.
• 145 E. 84th St.
• 117 E. 85th St.
• 125 E. 87th St.
• 152 E. 87th St.
• 120 E. 87th St.
• 501 E. 87th St.
• 168 E. 88th St.
• 160 E. 88th St.
• 1875 Second Ave.
• 1110 Fifth Ave.
• 153 E. 78th St.
• 135 E. 79th St.
• 300 E. 79th St.
• 238 E. 81ST St.
• 160 E. 84th St.
• 114 E. 85th St.
• 401 E. 88th St.
• 333 E. 91st St.
• 354 E. 91st St.
• 312 E. 95th St.

City officials cautioned residents that mask wearing will likely not help stave off infection as Legionella bacteria is not transmissible person-to-person. Community cluster outbreaks like the Upper East Side one usually stem from common sources of exposure, such as “cooling towers, hot tubs, and spray fountains,” the city said.

Public testing of the bacterium are ongoing, the city also announced. 

The city last experienced a major Legionnaires’ outbreak in August 2025, when over 100 people in Harlem got sick and seven died. 

Fox News Digital contacted the NYC Health Department for additional comment.