Hi everyone! Julia Tellerman here–epidemiologist in Rochester, New York–and I’m so excited to bring you the first edition of YLE Northeast!

Your most burning question so far: What exactly is the “Northeast”?

A regional perspective means we’ll look at issues defined not by borders, but by shared concerns across the Northeast. When we talk about summer insects, nor’easter storms, flu season, and foodborne illness in New York, we’re talking about issues that affect many communities connected by a shared climate, coast, commute, or supply chain. (New Jersey, we see you!) But each state has its own health story, too, unique to its geography, policy, and people. Join us as we figure it out together. If something’s happening in your corner of the Northeast that you think we should cover, let us know at [email protected] or put it in the comments.

This week, fall respiratory season may be starting early. We’ll also cover measles in New York and well water in Connecticut.

As always, a lot is happening in the Northeast, so let’s dig in.

Regional disease “weather” report

Flu season may be here early

In the Northeast, the number of people testing positive for flu is still very low, but increasing. This is especially true in HHS Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

If growth continues, this year’s season is nine weeks earlier than last year. Test positivity is 3.2%, which is noteworthy because the “start of flu season” is typically indicated at ~3%.

Compared to the rest of the country, the Northeast is a bit behind other regions, but this is normal. The Northeast often lags behind other regions as flu spreads across the country, though the order varies season to season.

Covid is elevated and still rising in some states

Covid-19 transmission—measured by wastewater levels—is variable across the Northeast region. Most states are still at “very low” levels, except CT and MA, which are at “high” levels. Covid-19 hasn’t peaked in the Northeast yet either, as many states are still increasing (see purple below).

And then there are the colds

The common cold is surging much higher than anything else right now, in part because school has started and the petri dishes (i.e., kids) are mixing. This is similar to national trends. We hope and expect to see this peak soon.

State and local updates

We’ve heard from many of you asking when we’ll bring YLE Northeast to your part of the region (or expand to the Midwest, the Northwest, and the South). We want this as much as you do! But it takes resources to make that happen. Paid subscribers, donors, and local partners are helping us get there. If you’re a community foundation, local health department, or philanthropist, reach out to [email protected]. We’d love to work with you to keep growing our team of on-the-ground experts.

New York City: More Legionella?

Legionella is a bacterium that grows in warm water. People get sick when they breathe in contaminated mist from sources like cooling towers, showers, and hot tubs.

Legionella seems to keep popping up in the City this year. Cases aren’t higher than last year, but both years are higher than before. There are also definitely more headlines right now, too (second graph), which makes it feel worse.

Right now, there are two small clusters:

• Two residents at North Shore Towers in Queens tested positive for Legionella.
• Separately, two residents at Staten Island’s Castleton Park Apartments tested positive.

These are different from this summer’s larger outbreaks on the UES and South Bronx, which came from outdoor cooling towers. Cooling towers spray mist into the air outside. The current clusters appear tied to the buildings’ own water systems, so we think it will stay small.

How does this keep happening? Since 2015, NYC has required cooling towers to be registered, tested, and inspected by the city. But water systems inside residential buildings get far less oversight, so prevention largely falls to building management. As Gothamist reported, residents at Castleton Park often struggle to get support from management.

New York State: Measles is now a “disaster emergency”

Measles was just declared a New York state emergency. Since July 15, 93 people have gotten sick (109 total in 2026). This is more than double last year but still low compared to other states.

So why declare an emergency? It allows health departments and health care workers to respond faster with the supplies, manpower, and testing needed to get ahead of this.

A few things about this stand out to me:

1. Equipping trusted nodes with tools. This declaration allows more providers to administer the MMR vaccine. Paramedics, advanced EMTs, and licensed midwives can now give the vaccine to anyone who meets the criteria. That’s big for rural areas where accessing a clinic or pharmacy can be difficult.
2. The unusual trend among adults: Unlike past outbreaks, which largely affected kids, adults now make up two-thirds of cases. We don’t know exactly why, but there are some possible explanations:
   • Testing bias: Adults may be more likely to go see a doctor and get tested.
   • Protection gaps: New York ended non-medical vaccine exemptions in 2019, which raised MMR rates to 98%. But adults who were opted out as kids before then may still be unprotected.

3. Measles spreads in tight social networks. Cases are concentrated in rural communities, many of which border or are close to Pennsylvania, where the Amish and Mennonite communities have been hit especially hard. More than 1,000 people have confirmed measles, and five have died. New York also has a large Amish population, but the state has only confirmed that spread is happening in “under-immunized” communities.

   Map of measles cases (per 100,000 people) in New York as of October 3. Source: NYC DOHMH, NYS DOH. Image generated by YLE and Claude.

Connecticut: Fall = low wells = check water quality

With fall comes the virus season, but also something nearly 1 in 4 Connecticut residents need to consider: private wells. Groundwater drops after months of heavy summer use. And parts of the state have been dry this year. Changing water levels can affect water quality. When rain returns after a dry spell, runoff can carry bacteria into wells, and lower water levels can concentrate naturally occurring contaminants. So, fall is a good time to check that your water is safe.

PFAS (often called “forever chemicals”) also turn up in some Connecticut wells. In Killingworth, state environmental officials (DEEP) discovered PFAS in 2021 near the town firehouse, likely from firefighting foam used there for years. When DPH tested 95 nearby wells, 25 had PFAS at levels high enough to require action.

Bottom line

The start of the fall season means everything from viruses to wells. Stay healthy out there, Northeast!

Love,
The NE YLE team

Julia Tellerman, MPH, is an epidemiologist in Rochester, NY. Asuka Koda is a health journalist in CT. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE NE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: