The Guggenheim Museum is among 31 buildings on New York City's Upper East Side where water-cooling towers have tested positive for Legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires' disease. City Health Department officials released the preliminary list on Friday.
The Guggenheim, located at 1071 Fifth Avenue, and 18 other property owners have already completed cleaning and disinfecting their cooling towers, according to the health department. Twelve other buildings were given a deadline of Saturday to complete the disinfection process, though it remains unclear if all have complied.
Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak
Since a July 2 outbreak, health officials have tested 183 cooling towers in the Upper East Side neighborhood. At least 46 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, and 22 of those individuals remain hospitalized. Health officials have stressed that it is safe to use air conditioners and cooling centers within the neighborhood despite the ongoing investigation.
The polymerase chain reaction tests used to screen the buildings' cooling towers can detect the presence of Legionella bacteria but cannot determine if the bacteria are alive or dead. Only live bacteria can cause the illness. The investigation into the source of the outbreak is ongoing, and it is not yet clear which building may have initially spread the bacteria.
Building Inspections and Compliance
Records indicate that more than half of the cooling towers inspected in the neighborhood by health officials failed to meet requirements. These failures include not performing regular monitoring and cleaning, and not submitting required Legionella test results to the health department. Test results typically take two weeks to return, and the investigation is expected to continue through the weekend, with the possibility of additional buildings being added to the infected list.