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Mayor vows disclosure of UES buildings that test positive for Legionella contamination
Gothamist • • health
Key Points:
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged to publicly release addresses of buildings with water-cooling towers testing positive for Legionella amid a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, emphasizing transparency and urgency.
- The outbreak has resulted in 28 diagnosed cases and 21 hospitalizations, with no deaths reported so far; the affected area includes ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075.
- City health officials are testing all 160 cooling towers in the area, with 139 already tested; building owners with positive results are required to clean and disinfect their towers under city supervision.
- Officials warn that initial PCR tests may detect dead bacteria, requiring further culture analysis and whole-genome sequencing to confirm live bacteria and link strains to infections.
- Residents are urged to monitor symptoms and seek medical care promptly, while city officials noted that masks are ineffective against Legionnaires’ and that exposure risk is not limited to those living in buildings with cooling towers.
