31 sickened in Upper East Side Legionnaires' cluster discharged from hospital, health officials say
Over two dozen people sickened by Legionnaires' disease on the Upper East Side are now out of the hospital, New York City health officials say.
The New York City Health Department said as of Saturday night, there were 56 total cases connected to the cluster.
Of those 56 cases, 16 people are currently hospitalized, 31 were hospitalized at one point but have since been discharged, and nine did not need to be hospitalized.
No deaths have been connected to the outbreak.
Source of cluster remains under investigation
Health officials continue to investigate the Legionnaires' disease cluster in the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods, which was first reported on July 3.
According to health officials, community clusters of the disease are usually traced back to mist from cooling towers in the affected area. They say Legionella bacteria can grow in the cooling tower water, and people can then get sick from breathing in the water vapor.
Officials have not yet determined the exact source of this outbreak, but on Friday, they released a list of 31 buildings in the area with cooling towers that tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
Those buildings were instructed to drain, clean and disinfect their cooling towers as a precaution. At least 19 have already disinfected their towers. Saturday was the deadline for building owners to complete remediation at the other 12 locations.
Health officials say the cluster is not connected to any building's plumbing system, and residents in the area can safely drink, bathe with and cook with their tap water. Using their air conditioners is also safe, officials say.
Anyone who lives or works in the affected area – which includes the ZIP codes 10028, 10128 and 10075 – should contact a healthcare provider immediately if they experience flu-like symptoms.
Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia, and can cause serious complications if left untreated, health officials say. The disease is not contagious.
Upper West Side Legionnaires' testing
City Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said Saturday that the owner of a building on the Upper West Side independently tested that building's hot water system for Legionella bacteria.
According to Martin, the testing is unrelated to the Upper East Side cluster.
Health officials have not reported any cases of Legionnaires' disease on the Upper West Side at this time.
