The Upper East Side Legionnaires’ disease cluster that health officials flagged last week has grown sharply, with the number of confirmed cases climbing from two to 18 and the investigation zone expanding to a third ZIP code.
Advertisement
As of July 4, there were 14 confirmed cases tied to the community cluster in the neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville, Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said in a statement from the Health Department. Because at least one of those cases involves someone who lives, works or spent time in the 10075 ZIP code, the department has added 10075 to an investigation area that already covered 10028 and 10128.As we reported last week, the department opened its investigation on July 2, when just two cases had been confirmed. To date there are no deaths tied to the cluster.
The Health Department is also advising anyone who visited the east side of Central Park, between East 76th and East 97th Streets, to watch for symptoms out of an abundance of caution.
Investigators are sampling and testing water from every cooling tower in the affected area, according to the department’s initial release. Past community clusters have been traced to Legionella bacteria carried through the air in mist from contaminated cooling towers, and any building owner whose tower tests positive will be ordered to carry out a full remediation.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the infections are not connected to any building’s plumbing or air conditioning, telling residents it remains safe to drink, bathe and cook with tap water, ABC7 reported.
Commissioner Martin credited the department’s epidemiologists, water ecologists and community health workers with moving quickly over the holiday weekend. “We identified the cluster early when there were just two confirmed cases, and we’ve acted swiftly and decisively,” he said in the statement. “There is more work to do in the days ahead as we learn more about the source of exposure and confirmed cases.”
Advertisement
Anyone who lives, works or has visited the area since late June and develops flu-like symptoms — fever, cough, chills, muscle aches or difficulty breathing — should contact a health care provider right away. In its earlier release, the department noted that people 50 and older, smokers and those with chronic lung conditions face higher risk.Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia and is not spread from person to person; people are infected only by breathing in contaminated water vapor, and it responds to antibiotics when caught early. Officials stressed that it is safe to keep using air conditioners, window units, cooling centers, city facilities and tap water in the neighborhood, since mist from a cooling tower blows outside and does not reach a building’s internal systems.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
