A second person has died in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, city health officials said.
The death, of an 88-year-old man, was announced as officials said that they believed the source of bacteria that led to the outbreak had been eliminated after a cleanup of cooling towers in the neighborhood.
Since the health authorities first detected a cluster of cases in early July, 72 people have been infected with the disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria, which can proliferate in warm, stagnant water. Most of the people were hospitalized. All but nine patients have been discharged, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said.
The first death was announced on Friday.
“We are heartbroken to learn that another New Yorker has lost their life to Legionnaires’ disease,” Dr. Alister F. Martin, the city’s health commissioner, said in a statement.
Ronald Katter, an attorney who said he represents the family of the second victim, described him as a retired businessman and Air Force veteran who had been married for 50 years.
“He was just enjoying his retirement with his wife, and they were about to start a renovation for their apartment,” said Mr. Katter, who has represented victims of past outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease. “They were future-oriented.”
Mr. Katter said that the man was hospitalized on July 2, after his wife had returned home in the afternoon and found him feverish with a temperature of 104 degrees. He lived in the East 70s of Manhattan. Mr. Katter said that the family did not want to release identifying information.
Every year, several hundred people in New York City on average are sickened with the disease. Cases are more common during the summer, when buildings use their rooftop cooling towers, which are part of a buildings’ air-conditioning and refrigeration systems.
The towers continually recirculate warm water, creating an ideal environment for the Legionella bacteria to grow. They also include fans that can distribute water droplets into the air, and that mist, if it contains the bacteria, can sicken people who inhale it.
Most people exposed to the bacteria do not become sick, but some people can be vulnerable, including those who are 50 and older and those with weakened immune systems and chronic diseases.
The health authorities investigating the source of the outbreak have focused on cooling towers on buildings on the Upper East Side. Earlier this month, they ordered 76 buildings to clean and disinfect their cooling systems. The number of new cases has declined significantly over the past 10 days, health officials said.
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