New York City officials confirmed that two more people have died in connection to this summer’s Legionnaires’ outbreak in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Over 90 people have tested positive for the illness, and the death count has slowly grown as officials say they believe the source has been eliminated. No other information was immediately released on the the two who died.
Here’s what to know.
Legionnaires’ disease outbreak claims two new deaths
Alister Martin, the NYC Health Commissioner, announced that after investigation, two additional deaths would now be added to the overall count.
“In recent weeks, our disease investigators confirmed two additional deaths connected to the Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease cluster,” he wrote on X.
“There is no evidence of ongoing transmission as the last diagnosis was more than six weeks ago.”
Now, the number of those infected from this summer’s outbreak is 94 cases, while 11 people in total have died. The first cases were identified earlier this summer.
“There are now no patients hospitalized with this illness as part of this cluster — the last remaining patient has recovered and returned home.”
About a month ago, the cluster was closed by officials after they believed the source was eradicated.
The illness is caused by Legionella bacteria, which typically can be found in cooling towers. People are at risk of getting Legionnaires’ disease if they breathe in water vapor contaminated with the bacteria.
In total, the New York City Health Department had 183 cooling towers from 160 buildings tested. Out of those tested, 59 cooling towers at 58 buildings were positive in a culture test, meaning that Legionella bacteria was present and live. All were cleaned and disinfected, the city says. The newest death comes after another patient died earlier this week.
“While the cluster has been closed for 4 weeks, our scientists continue working to match samples from cooling towers with samples from patients. We expect those findings in September, and we will share them publicly,” Martin wrote in a post.
What are the symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease?
Signs of Legionnaires’ disease include:
headaches and muscle aches
coughing and shortness of breath
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death count grows in NYC Legionnaires’ disease outbreak