34 Cooling Towers Test Positive For Live Legionella On The UES: See List

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — City officials said Wednesday they have identified 34 cooling towers on the Upper East Side linked to the Legionnaires' disease that has killed five and made 82 people sick since the outbreak began on July 2.

The outbreak has been concentrated in the Upper East Side ZIP codes 10028, 10075 and 10128, where the city spent the past two weeks testing 183 cooling towers and ordering the disinfection of 77 cooling towers at 75 buildings that screened positive for Legionella bacteria in an initial PCR test.

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Of those cooling towers, 34 at 33 buildings have screened positive in the second round of testing to determine if live bacteria, capable of spreading disease, were present in the tank, officials said. The list includes a few notable addresses, like the Guggenheim Museum and the Chapin School.

Further DNA testing is needed to confirm which cooling towers made people sick.

Health officials are still urging anyone who spent time in the three affected ZIP codes to seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms, noting that Legionnaires' disease symptoms can appear up to 14 days after exposure.

Eight people remain hospitalized, and 56 people have been discharged from the hospital.

The Health Department said it will continue investigating the outbreak and provide updates as they become available.

Here is the list of addresses where cooling towers tested positive for live bacteria. All have been remediated.

• 100 East End Avenue (The Chapin School)
• 180 East End Avenue
• 1381 Lexington Avenue
• 1486 Lexington Avenue (Tested PCR negative and culture positive)
• 1020 Park Avenue
• 1249 Park Avenue
• 1750 York Avenue
• 1660 Second Avenue
• 1438 Third Avenue
• 1551 Third Avenue
• 1001 Fifth Avenue
• 1080 Fifth Avenue
• 1045 Fifth Avenue (Tested PCR negative and culture positive)
• 1071 Fifth Avenue (Guggenheim Museum)
• 135 E 79th Street
• 155 E 79th Street
• 300 E 79th Street
• 301 E 80th Street (Tested PCR negative and culture positive)
• 511 E 80th Street
• 238 E 81st Street
• 240 E 82nd Street
• 8 E 83rd Street
• 13 E 84th Street
• 145 E 84th Street
• 7 E 86th Street
• 120 E 87th Street
• 125 E 87th Street
• 501 E 87th Street
• 168 E 88th Street
• 410 E 92nd Street (Courtyard by Marriot)
• 200 E 95th Street
• 235 E 95th Street
• 115 E 97th Street (Marymount School of New York) (Tested PCR negative and culture positive)

This is a developing story and will be updated. For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.