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Legionnaires' Disease

Legionnaires' Disease Cluster on the Upper East Side

The NYC Health Department is currently investigating a community cluster of Legionnaires' disease in the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville (ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075). We are confident the source of the Legionella bacteria has been eliminated.

Cooling Tower Remediation Results

  • 183 cooling towers at 160 buildings have been tested for Legionella bacteria. Of those:
    • 77 cooling towers at 75 buildings tested PCR positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria in initial testing.
    • 58 cooling towers at 57 buildings tested culture positive, confirming the presence of live Legionella bacteria. All have been cleaned and disinfected.
    • In total, 95 cooling towers have tested culture negative. All other results are pending at this time.

Learn more about what it means when a building tests culture positive and to see the full list.

Case Count

  • 90 people have tested positive for Legionnaires' disease:
    • 7 currently hospitalized
    • 65 discharged
    • 13 not hospitalized
    • 5 deaths

Diagnosis date is the date the specimen that tested positive was collected from the patient. No cases were diagnosed after 7/17. Data are preliminary and subject to change.

Legionnaires' disease is not caused by any building's plumbing system. Residents in ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075 can continue to drink tap water, bathe, shower, cook, and use your air conditioner at home.

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. For help finding a provider, regardless of immigration or insurance status, visit NYC Health + Hospitals or call 311 or 844-NYC-4NYC (844-692-4692).

Last updated July 27 at 8:15 p.m.


Legionnaires' Disease Investigation

Cooling towers at the following addresses have tested culture positive, meaning live Legionella bacteria were present at the time of the test:

  • 60 East End Avenue
  • 100 East End Avenue
  • 180 East End Avenue
  • 1381 Lexington Avenue
  • 1486 Lexington Avenue *
  • 1150 Madison Avenue
  • 1239 Madison Avenue
  • 1275 Madison Avenue
  • 920 Park Avenue
  • 1020 Park Avenue
  • 1249 Park Avenue
  • 1507 York Avenue*
  • 1750 York Avenue
  • 1755 York Avenue
  • 1875 Second Avenue
  • 1660 Second Avenue
  • 1438 Third Avenue
  • 1551 Third Avenue
  • 980 Fifth Avenue
  • 1001 Fifth Avenue
  • 1130 Fifth Avenue
  • 1080 Fifth Avenue
  • 1045 Fifth Avenue *
  • 1071 Fifth Avenue
  • 1513 First Avenue
  • 200 E 78th Street
  • 124 E 79th Street
  • 135 E 79th Street
  • 155 E 79th Street
  • 201 E 79th Street
  • 211 E 79th Street
  • 300 E 79th Street
  • 301 E 80th Street *
  • 511 E 80th Street
  • 238 E 81st Street
  • 240 E 82nd Street
  • 8 E 83rd Street
  • 500 E 83rd Street
  • 13 E 84th Street
  • 145 E 84th Street
  • 160 E 84th Street
  • 7 E 86th Street
  • 401 E 86th Street
  • 444 E 86th Street
  • 445 E 86th Street
  • 51 E 87th Street
  • 120 E 87th Street
  • 125 E 87th Street
  • 501 E 87th Street
  • 168 E 88th Street
  • 401 East 88th Street
  • 9 E 90th Street
  • 410 E 92nd Street
  • 40 E 94th Street
  • 200 E 95th Street
  • 235 E 95th Street
  • 115 E 97th Street *

* Tested PCR negative and culture positive. All have been remediated.

A culture positive cooling tower may or may not be the source of Legionella bacteria exposure in the current cluster.

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About Legionnaires' Disease

Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia. It is caused by bacteria (Legionella) that grow in warm water. Legionnaires' disease causes flu-like symptoms, and complications from the disease can be serious and even fatal, if left untreated.

People who breathe in water vapor (mist) that contains Legionella bacteria can get sick.

Most people who are exposed to the bacteria do not develop Legionnaires' disease. Illness usually occurs after high or repeated exposure, especially in people who are at increased risk.

Legionnaires' disease is not contagious — you cannot get it from someone else. You cannot get Legionnaires' disease by drinking water, cooking, or using air conditioning. The bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease does not spread through cooled air from air conditioners.

You are at an increased risk for Legionnaires' disease if you:

  • Are age 50 or older
  • Smoke or vape
  • Have chronic heart, lung, kidney, or liver disease or diabetes
  • Have a weakened immune system due to a medical condition or medication

When there are multiple people in a neighborhood with Legionnaires' disease (community cluster), common sources of exposure are cooling towers, hot tubs, and spray fountains.

At other times, when there are multiple people with Legionnaires' disease who live in the same building (building cluster), the exposure is typically related to a building’s plumbing system — most often the hot water system. When this happens, a building’s residents can be exposed through water mist when they shower.

When there are two or more confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease within a 12-month period associated with the same building with a shared hot water system, the Health Department will conduct a building evaluation.

Symptoms

Legionnaires' disease symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, and cough. People may also have headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite, confusion, or diarrhea.

If you have these symptoms, seek medical attention. It is especially important for people at increased risk for Legionnaires' disease to seek care right away. Tell your health care provider you are worried about Legionnaires’ disease.

Prevention

There is no vaccine or medicine that can prevent Legionnaires' disease, but it can be treated with antibiotics, and most people get better with early treatment. The best way to prevent the disease is through the proper maintenance of water systems where Legionella may grow.

In NYC, building owners are required to register cooling towers. This allows the Health Department to quickly investigate when we are notified of clusters of Legionnaires' disease cases. Building owners also need to routinely test the water in the cooling tower for the presence of Legionella and do routine checks of their system as required by NYC cooling tower regulations. They also need to routinely test the water for the presence of Legionella. You can look up results of Health Department inspections of cooling tower systems by building address or building identification number (BIN).

The Health Department investigates clusters of Legionnaires' disease cases to find the source of the contamination in order to prevent other people from getting sick.

Additional Resources

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