New York City health officials have identified 76 Upper East Side buildings with cooling towers testing positive for Legionella on initial PCR screening, up from 31 buildings reported last week, as the investigation into the Legionnaires' disease outbreak enters its next phase. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 57 of the 76 cooling towers have already been cleaned and disinfected, while remediation of the remaining towers is expected to be completed by Thursday. Health Commissioner Dr.
Alister Martin said officials expect this to be the complete list of buildings ordered to clean and disinfect their cooling towers, although confirmatory culture testing remains ongoing. Officials emphasized that PCR screening detects the presence of Legionella DNA in water but does not determine whether live bacteria capable of causing illness are present. A second…
