Legionnaires' Cases Rise In Manhattan's Upper East Side As Dozens Of Cooling Towers Test Positive

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

New York Health officials have identified dozens of cooling towers in Manhattan’s Upper East Side that tested positive for traces of Legionella bacteria, as Legionnaires’ disease cases reached 63 as of Tuesday. So far, 12 people are currently hospitalized, and 40 have been discharged from the hospital.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene published a list this week detailing building cooling towers where initial PCR tests were positive for the bacteria.

Owners must drain, clean, and disinfect those cooling towers immediately. Many have already completed the work, with a few pending, according to numbers published by officials.

The towers with positive PCR results, according to the health department’s July 14 update, include 60 East End Avenue, 100 East End Avenue, 180 East End Avenue, and a long string along Madison, Park, York, and Fifth avenues, plus blocks of East 78th through 95th streets.

A handful still show cleaning pending, including 80 East End Avenue and 90 East End Avenue. The department posted exact addresses and street numbers, down to 300 East 83rd Street, which had an unregistered tower.

Confirmed cases climbed to 18 by July 5, an increase from 10 just days prior. They are clustered in ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075, which are located in Yorkville and Carnegie Hill, as well as a stretch east of Central Park.

No deaths have been reported thus far.

Symptoms for legionnaires’ disease include fever, chills, cough, and muscle aches, and it spreads when people inhale mist from contaminated water, not from person-to-person contact. The symptoms usually appear 2–10 days after exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease is treatable with antibiotics. Nonetheless, approximately 1 in 10 cases can be fatal, especially in older adults, smokers, and those with weakened immune systems or chronic lung disease. Cooling towers on rooftops are often the source of these outbreaks through warm, stagnant water.

Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin urged people to be on the lookout for symptoms.

“Any New Yorkers who currently live or work in this area or people who have visited the area since late June and are experiencing flu-like symptoms, such as cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, should contact a health care provider immediately,” the department said in an earlier statement.

“This is not an issue with any building’s plumbing system,” the health department noted.

Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water. It produces flu-like symptoms, and if left untreated, complications can become serious or even fatal.

When multiple cases emerge within a neighborhood—known as a community cluster—the exposure often traces back to sources such as cooling towers, hot tubs, or spray fountains. When cases cluster within a single building instead, the source is usually the building’s plumbing system, particularly its hot water system. In these situations, residents can be exposed to the bacteria through water mist while showering.

Last summer, a cluster in Central Harlem made 114 people sick and killed seven. That one was also connected to cooling towers.