New York reports Legionnaires' disease death in Upper East Side; authorities disinfect 76 buildings

New York City health officials announced on Friday that at least one person has died from Legionnaires' disease in the Upper East Side neighborhood. The city's Department of Health confirmed a total of 67 cases, with 12 individuals currently hospitalized due to the severe lung infection.

In response to the outbreak, authorities have ordered the cleaning and disinfection of 76 buildings in the affected area. Water samples from these buildings, including the renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art, tested positive for Legionella bacteria, the causative agent of the disease. Legionnaires' disease, a serious form of pneumonia, carries a mortality rate of 9%. Transmission occurs through contaminated water or inhaling airborne microdroplets, and it is not spread from person to person.

The city's Department of Health urged individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, muscle aches, and cough, to seek immediate medical attention. The disease, first identified in 1976 following an outbreak at a Philadelphia hotel during an American Legion conference where 34 people died, derives its name from that initial cluster of cases.