Overview
- The New York City Department of Health confirmed late Thursday that a likely community cluster has sickened five people and caused one death in parts of Melrose and Morrisania in ZIP codes 10451 and 10456.
- City water ecologists have collected samples from about 20 cooling towers in the affected area and sent them to the Health Department’s Public Health Laboratory for Legionella testing.
- Officials said any cooling tower that tests positive will be directed to undergo full cleaning and disinfection and that investigators are actively searching for additional cases.
- The department is launching neighborhood outreach with multilingual flyers, door‑to‑door canvassing, NotifyNYC alerts and weekend town halls while urging residents and clinicians to seek testing for flu‑like symptoms.
- This is the second community Legionnaires cluster in New York City this summer following a July outbreak on the Upper East Side, and city and state inspection changes made after that outbreak will shape follow‑up actions depending on test results and new case confirmations.