ISTANBUL

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.

"As of August 18, there are 108 confirmed cases, five deaths, 14 currently hospitalized.”

Legionnaires’ disease, which is not contagious from person to person, is a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water. It produces flu-like symptoms and can lead to fatal complications, it added.

"The Health Department has sampled and tested 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 added.

It added 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 the US city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The disease was named after the affected group — US service personnel attending an American Legion convention.