The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City has tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, health officials confirmed. The museum was among 31 buildings on Manhattan's Upper East Side required to clean and disinfect their cooling towers as part of the city's response to an ongoing outbreak.
Legionnaires' disease is a serious form of pneumonia caused by Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium that occurs naturally in water. It is contracted from warm water sources, typically in large cooling towers, and not from drinking water. The bacteria can be released into the air through mist.
Of the 31 buildings identified, the Guggenheim Museum was among 19 that had completed disinfection by Friday. The remaining buildings were expected to finish the process by Saturday. The city stated that the museum has confirmed no additional action is needed and poses no risk to individuals inside the building.
The current outbreak has led to 23 confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease and 17 hospitalizations, according to earlier reports. Symptoms include fever, chills, and shortness of breath, and the illness is treatable with antibiotics if detected early. Health officials are advising anyone who lives, works, or has visited the affected area since late June and develops flu-like symptoms to contact a healthcare provider immediately.
The source of the broader outbreak remains under investigation, though cooling towers are a known potential source. These systems control building temperatures but do not affect drinking water or indoor air conditioning. Legionnaires' disease does not spread from person to person.
In a separate incident last year, seven deaths were linked to a Legionnaires' disease cluster traced to a cooling tower at Harlem Hospital and a nearby construction site.
The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in 1959 and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.