Fifth person dies in Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Harlem as cases rise to 108
HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York City officials announced a fifth death on Monday, in connection to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Harlem.
The outbreak has now resulted in 108 cases and five deaths since it started weeks ago. Officials say 14 people are currently hospitalized.
The New York City Health Department said the newly-reported death had been "under investigation for some time and our team was able to confirm this death as part of the cluster today."
Video in the media player above is from a previous report.
It comes after the final of 12 affected cooling towers in the outbreak was remediated on Friday.
All 12 cooling towers in Central Harlem that tested culture positive for live Legionella bacteria have been fully drained, cleaned, and disinfected.
RELATED | What to know about Legionnaires' disease
City health officials have linked the outbreak to cooling towers, structures containing water and a fan that are used to cool buildings. Health officials say you can get the disease by breathing in water vapor that has Legionella bacteria, which grows in warm water.
Last week, for the first time since the outbreak started, city officials identified which buildings are connected to the outbreak -- and Mayor Eric Adams revealed that one of the buildings is Harlem Hospital.
The cooling towers are located at:
- BRP Companies, Lafayette Development LLC, 2239 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard
- BVK, 215 West 125th Street
- Commonwealth Local Development, 301 West 124th Street
- CUNY - City College Marshak Science Building, 181 Convent Avenue
- Harlem Center Condo, 317 Lenox Avenue
- NYC Economic Development Corporation, 40 West 137th Street
- NYC Health Department Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic, 2238 Fifth Avenue
- NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital, 506 Lenox Avenue
- The New York Hotel Trades Council Harlem Health Center, 133 Morningside Avenue
- Wharton Properties, 100 West 125th Street (3 of 8 towers)
The number of new cases of Legionnaires' disease being reported has started to decline, suggesting that the bacteria's source has been contained.
City officials said they are still working to confirm which specific cooling tower caused the current outbreak.
On Monday civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and national civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton said they were hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce a filing of a lawsuit against the construction company believed to be responsible for the deadly outbreak in Harlem.
Attorney Crump and Weitz & Luxenberg have been retained by construction workers doing work in Harlem who were hospitalized after contracting Legionnaires' disease in late July.
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