Latest NYC Legionnaires’ disease outbreak rises to 59 cases - with bacteria now detected for first time across park, at posh UWS building

Key Points:

• The Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has sickened 59 people, with 48 hospitalized due to severe pneumonia caused by the bacteria, according to the NYC Department of Health.
• While all cases have been linked to the Upper East Side, Legionella bacteria was detected for the first time in the hot-water system of a luxury Upper West Side building, The Ardsley, which has since been disinfected.
• No deaths have been reported so far, but health officials expect more positive cases in the coming days as the outbreak, first identified on July 2, continues to be investigated as a community cluster.
• Testing of 183 cooling towers in the affected area found 31 contaminated with Legionella, including the Guggenheim Museum; all have completed required cleaning and disinfection.
• The city warns residents and visitors of the infected neighborhoods to seek medical attention immediately if they develop flu-like symptoms, emphasizing that cooling towers are the typical source of such outbreaks.