There are now at least 46 cases of Legionnaires’ disease connected to Upper East Side cooling towers since the cluster was first identified last week, New York City Health Department officials said.
Of those who have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, 22 have been hospitalized.
Friday, City Hall is expected to announce precisely which buildings have cooling towers that have tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
Mamdani says city has taken “an aggressive posture”
About 150 buildings on the Upper East Side between 76th and 97th streets are having their cooling towers tested to identify areas of concern.
“We have completed sampling and testing every single one of the cooling towers in the affected area, and that is alongside taking an aggressive posture where we have ordered those buildings to clean and disinfect their cooling towers on the basis of initial testing results,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
The Legionnaires’ cluster has been linked to Manhattan zip codes 10075, 10028 and 10128.
What is Legionnaires’ disease?
Legionnaires’ is a form of pneumonia with flu-like symptoms and can be life-threatening. The Health Department says it’s not an issue with any building’s plumbing, so residents can continue to drink tap water, bathe and use air conditioning.
Health officials say the outbreak in this case is because people are being exposed through mist in the air produced by cooling towers on top of buildings. It does not spread person-to-person.
You can find more information about Legionnaires’ disease from New York City here
