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Harlem Legionnaires’ Outbreak Nears Containment with Final Cooling Tower Set for Remediation

City officials now focus on genetic testing to link environmental samples to patient cases following final tower remediation

Legionella Pneumophila Colorized Tem, Approximately X 129 500, Cultured In An Embryonated Hen’S Egg. Legionella Pneumophila Is A Gram Negative Bacillus, Strict Aerobic. This Is An Ubiquitous Aquatic And Facultative Intracellular Bacterium, Responsible For Legionaire Disease Legionellosis And Pontiac Fever. Legionella Pneumophila > Legionella > Legionellaceae > Legionellales > Proteobacteria > Bacterium. This Thin Section Transmission Electron Micrograph Tem Depicted A Gram Negative Legionella Pneumophila Bacterium, Which Was Cultured In An Embryonated Hen’S Egg; Magnified Approximately 119,500X. At Least 46 Legionella Spp. , And 70 Serogroups Have Been Identified. L. Pneumophila, An Ubiquitous Aquatic Bacterial Organism, Which Thrives In Warm Environments, Primarily At Temperatures Ranging From 32° 45°C, And Causes Over 90% Of Legionnaires' Disease, Ld, In The United States. Legionnaires' Disease, Ld, Is The More Severe Form Of Legionellosis And Is Characterized By Pneumonia, Commencing 2 10 Days After Exposure. Pontiac Fever Is An Acute Onset, Flu Like, Non Pneumonic Illness, Occuring Within A Few Hours To Two Days Of Exposure. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that grow in warm water and spread through water systems in buildings. (Representative image)
215 W. 125th St. one of the sites in Harlem where the city says a water cooling tower tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.

Overview

  • The outbreak has sickened 99 people, caused four confirmed deaths and left 17 hospitalized as of August 15, 2025.
  • Eleven of the 12 Legionella-positive rooftop cooling towers in Central Harlem have been disinfected, and the last is scheduled for treatment imminently.
  • Health authorities traced the cluster to towers at 12 locations across about ten buildings, including Harlem Hospital and CUNY’s Marshak Science Building, and publicly released their addresses.
  • Agencies stressed that building plumbing and the municipal water supply remain unaffected, assuring residents that tap water and air quality are safe.
  • Laboratory efforts to link environmental samples to patient infections are underway, even as community leaders demand stricter inspections, faster remediation deadlines and steeper penalties for noncompliance.