In Harlem, a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak has left three people dead and has sickened at least 58 others. Health officials are actively investigating the outbreak, but folks are equally baffled and concerned at the resurgence of a fatal disease from the 1970s. Here’s what we know.
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Legionnaires’ disease is “a severe form of a lung infection called pneumonia” and is caused by the bacteria legionella, which grows in warm water. It doesn’t spread from person to person, but it instead spreads through mist, such as from air-conditioning units for large buildings. It can also be caused by plumbing systems where conditions are favorable for legionella growth, such as humidifiers, cooling towers, hot tubs, whirlpool spas, and hot water tanks. Most folks exposed to the bacteria won’t even develop symptoms, but if they do, they are often flu-like, and can include cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headaches, and diarrhea.
What makes the Harlem outbreak even more perplexing is questions about how the outbreak started has gone unanswered. Let’s backtrack to July 1976. A three-day American Legion convention was held at Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. In early August of that same year, convention attendees began falling ill with a mysterious illness, which was later identified as pneumonia. Public health officials investigated the outbreak, initially suspecting a chemical toxin or a new disease. In total, 149 Legionnaires became sick and 33 others associated with the hotel or in the area also became sick. Of those 182 cases, 29 people died. That’s how the disease got its name.
Fast forward to current day, the deadly cluster of the pneumonia-like illness has spread across five zip codes (10027, 10030, 10035, 10037 and 10039) in Upper Manhattan. It has claimed three lives, none of which has publicly identified, and sickened nearly 70 people, according to reports.
Despite being considered a “rare” disease, if its detected early enough it is easily treatable, according to city health officials. And that’s what Mayor Eric Adams is encouraging residents to do, telling folks in a video statement on X “if you have flu-like symptoms and you’re in that area to please seek medical attention.”
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