A fourth person has died in connection with a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City. Health officials disclosed the latest death Thursday as they revealed that some cooling towers tested positive for the bacteria in some city-run buildings.

The death toll in New York’s ongoing outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Central Harlem has risen to five, as more people continue to be diagnosed with the severe pneumonia.

Four people in New York City's Harlem neighbourhood have died from an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, an aggressive and potentially deadly form of pneumonia. The city has seen 99 confirmed cases with 17 people in hospital with the infection, according to the New York City Department of Health.