50 Manhattan Buildings Test Positive for Live Legionella as Upper East Side Outbreak Hits 84 Cases
Updated
Updated · NBC New York · Jul 23
50 Manhattan Buildings Test Positive for Live Legionella as Upper East Side Outbreak Hits 84 Cases
3 articles · Updated · NBC New York · Jul 23
Summary
An updated New York City health tally found 50 Upper East Side buildings with cooling towers testing positive for live Legionella, up from a preliminary list of 33 released two days earlier.
Health officials said the positive towers are not necessarily the source of the outbreak and that DNA testing could take weeks to identify which tower or towers sickened residents and whether owners followed testing and disinfection rules.
The outbreak has reached 84 Legionnaires' disease cases across ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075, including five deaths; 59 patients were hospitalized and discharged, 13 were never hospitalized, and seven remained hospitalized Wednesday night.
City officials said all towers that tested positive have been fully cleaned and believe the source has already been eliminated, citing no new cases since July 15 even as more building results may still be added.