Advocacy group says recurring outbreaks underscore need to shift from outbreak response to comprehensive prevention strategy
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease (APLD) is urging New York City and New York State officials to adopt a more comprehensive approach to preventing Legionnaires’ disease following the New York City Health Department’s investigation into a growing cluster of cases on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The current outbreak follows recently reported cases in the East Village, cases in a residential building in Harlem in February, and last summer’s tragic Harlem outbreak.
Bob Bowcock, APLD board member and water expert who founded IRM Water, stated:
“Recurring clusters of Legionnaires’ disease cases should serve as a wake-up call. This year marks 50 years since the first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the US, yet we still don’t have the comprehensive prevention strategy needed to protect the public. New York must move beyond responding to outbreaks after people become sick and address the quality of water entering buildings and water equipment before humans can be exposed.”
APLD calls on New York to follow the lead of its neighbors in New Jersey, which enacted a comprehensive “source-to-tap” prevention law in September 2024 that includes policies to strengthen water management practices across the water system, increase public awareness and improve coordination between public water systems and building owners.”
More specifically, New York must enact the holistic approach found in legislation pending in the State Legislature, Senate Bill 8499A (Senator Cleare) and Assembly Bill 9095 (Assemblymember Rosenthal), which will create a statewide plan to:
- Better monitor and manage the public water distribution system to kill legionella bacteria and prevent its “seeding” of buildings, facilities and homes;
- Improve communications between public water systems and end water users so they are aware of increased Legionnaires’ risk due to planned and unplanned disruptions to the system;
- Require building water management plans consistent with the leading global legionella risk-mitigation standard for buildings, ASHRAE Standard 188-2021 so plumbing systems and all water equipment is properly managed to mitigate risks;
- Comprehensively investigate all cases to consider all potential points of exposure; and
- Include ongoing public education and awareness of susceptibility, signs and symptoms and steps that can be taken to reduce risks.
About Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease
Founded in 2016, the Alliance to Prevent Legionnaires’ disease is a nonprofit public health advocacy group dedicated to reducing the occurrence of Legionnaires’ disease. APLD promotes public research, education, best practices for water management, and advocating for comprehensive public water supply strategies to combat this preventable disease.
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SOURCE Prevent Legionnaires’
