Harlem's outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has officially ended, with two city locations identified as the origin.

The Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Central Harlem, which sickened over 114 people and resulted in seven deaths, has been declared over by New York City health officials. The city is now taking steps to prevent a similar outbreak from happening again.

According to the New York City Health Department, the company overseeing the construction of the new public health laboratory in Central Harlem was Hill International. The city plans to increase fines for noncompliance, hire more inspectors and engineers, expand proactive sampling capacity, and create neighborhood health teams as part of the proposed reforms.

Dr. Mitchell Katz, the head of the Health Department, reported that Harlem Hospital's cooling tower was disinfected on July 2, three weeks before the first case in the Harlem cluster was reported. Culture results confirming the presence of Legionella came approximately two weeks later. The city will implement more frequent testing of cooling towers as part of the reforms.

The bacterial strain was traced to the cooling towers at Harlem Hospital and a nearby construction site. Both the hospital and the construction site have since been disinfected and sanitized. The Health Department will review its existing rules to strengthen prevention efforts.

Mayoral candidate former Governor Andrew Cuomo renewed his call for an independent review of how the city acted before and during the Harlem Legionnaires' disease outbreak. Cuomo stated that the city's dual role as regulator and landlord of the affected buildings creates an "inherent conflict."

As of Aug. 29, no new cases have been reported since Aug. 9. However, health officials are now investigating separate Legionnaires' cases at two Bronx buildings, Parkchester North and South. Dr. Morse, a health official, confirmed that the investigations into these cases are completely separate from the central Harlem cluster.

Gothamist reported that the city's Department of Health lost more than a third of its cooling tower inspectors over the last three years. The city will hire more inspectors as part of the reforms, but specifics on numbers and budget were not disclosed.

Dr. Morse stated that even when buildings follow city regulations, Legionella bacteria can still be found. The city is taking a proactive approach to prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of its residents.

Harlem's outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has officially ended, with two city locations identified as the origin.