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Legionnaires Cluster on Upper East Side Grows to 23 Cases

City officials said Tuesday they are testing roughly 160 cooling towers and remediating any positives as lab cultures that could identify a specific source may take weeks.

Image
File photo of the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
An illustration of Legionella pneumophila bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires' disease.

Overview

  • The cluster was first announced on July 2 and has expanded to 23 confirmed cases with 17 people hospitalized, city health officials said Tuesday.
  • The Department of Health has widened the investigation to ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075 and is sampling about 160 cooling towers in the area to find a likely tower-based source.
  • Teams have begun cleaning and disinfecting any towers that screen positive while the public health lab runs cultures that officials warn can take days to weeks to confirm a precise source.
  • Officials say the outbreak is not linked to building plumbing or home air conditioners and that residents can safely drink tap water, shower and use home AC, while clinicians have been told to test suspected pneumonia cases from the area.
  • This cluster follows a deadly Harlem outbreak last year and highlights enforcement gaps in cooling tower inspection and testing that could prompt stronger oversight and more cases being found as surveillance rises.