NYC health officials list 45 additional buildings testing positive for Legionella

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released the addresses of 45 additional buildings that tested positive for Legionella bacteria, adding to an existing list of 31 sites previously ordered to disinfect their cooling towers. The new entries include several private schools, such as Spence and Dalton, and cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

According to health commissioner Dr. Alister Martin, 57 of the 76 cooling towers have already been disinfected, with the remaining 19 slated for remediation by Thursday. He noted that PCR screening detects bacterial DNA but does not confirm live bacteria, and that confirmatory culture testing is ongoing.

The department has tested 183 cooling towers in the affected zip codes 10028, 10128 and 10075. As of Tuesday, 60 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease on the Upper East Side, with fifteen still hospitalized, thirty-four discharged and recovering at home, and eleven treated as outpatients.

"We expect this to be the complete list of buildings ordered to clean and disinfect their towers," Dr. Martin said. > "We are now seeing significantly fewer new cases. Yesterday, we identified just one new case," he added.

Officials emphasized that the disease spreads by inhaling contaminated mist from cooling towers, not through tap water, showers, or air-conditioner use. Residents with flu-like symptoms are advised to seek medical care promptly.