Upper East Side Legionnaires' disease cluster rises to 36 cases as cooling tower testing continues
Cooling tower testing continues on New York City's Upper East Side as the number of Legionnaires' disease cases continues to grow.
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, there have been 36 reported cases and 22 hospitalizations, according to city health data. No deaths have been connected to this cluster.
Health officials say the most common way to get sick is from breathing mist from a contaminated cooling tower, and it can spread multiple city blocks.
The city began testing cooling towers in three ZIP codes on the Upper East Side: 10075, 10028 and 10128.
Officials say so far, about 160 have been tested.
CBS News New York obtained a letter informing the people in charge of a building located at 1511 Third Avenue that the cooling tower tested positive for Legionella bacteria. The New York City Department of Health confirmed it's one of several buildings that received the letter.
Based on the initial screening test results, the building was ordered to clean and disinfect their cooling towers. CBS News New York called and emailed the building owners listed, but did not hear back.
The city says additional testing is needed to determine which cooling towers are making people sick.
The mayor's office plans to release a list of all the buildings that tested positive for Legionella bacteria in the coming days.
In the meantime, health officials are asking people spending time on the east side of Central Park between 76th and 97th streets to monitor their symptoms, which include cough, fever, headaches, muscle aches and shortness of breath. Anyone who experiences these symptoms is encouraged to seek medical help immediately.
