New york: A Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, considered to be linked to contaminated cooling towers, has killed five people and hospitalized 14 others as of Monday, officials said. "The NYC Health Department is currently investigating a community cluster of Legionnaires' disease in Central Harlem," the department said in a statement.

According to Anadolu Agency, as of August 18, there are 108 confirmed cases, five deaths, and 14 individuals currently hospitalized due to the outbreak. Legionnaires' disease, which is not contagious from person to person, is a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria that thrive in warm water. It produces flu-like symptoms and can lead to fatal complications, it added.

The Health Department has conducted sampling and testing of water from cooling towers in the investigation zone. Any cooling towers with initial positive results for Legionella bacteria have completed the treatment required by the Health Department. The department emphasized that the community outbreak was unrelated to any building's hot or cold water system.

The bacterium causing Legionnaires' disease was identified in 1976 following a major outbreak at a hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.