The warnings center around the illness known as Legionnaire’s disease and several cases have been reported, according to an ABC 7 article published on Sunday.
In an update on Monday afternoon, the New York City Health Department said it is investigating, adding there were eight cases of the disease in the zip codes 10027, 10030, 10035, and 10037.
“This is not an issue with any building’s plumbing system. Residents in these ZIP codes can continue to drink tap water, bathe, shower, cook, and use your air conditioner at home,” the update read:
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia. It is caused by bacteria (Legionella) that grow in warm water. Legionnaires’ disease causes flu-like symptoms, and complications from the disease can be fatal.
People who inhale mist that contains Legionella bacteria can get sick. Sources of water with Legionella contamination may include cooling towers, showers, and hot tubs. Window air conditioners do not spread the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.
Most people who are exposed to the bacteria do not develop Legionnaires’ disease, and it is not contagious — you cannot get it from someone else. You cannot get Legionnaires’ disease by drinking the water.
Dr. Celia Quinn, deputy commissioner of the health department’s Division of Disease Control, told the Gothamist that community outbreaks are often linked to the Legionella bacteria in cooling towers.
“Those are the big metal boxes on top of buildings that are used to do central air conditioning for large buildings,” she explained, adding, “When the weather conditions are very hot and humid, that can help the bacteria to grow really rapidly.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, the legionella bacteria can also cause Pontiac fever which it described as a milder sickness similar to the flu.
“In 2022, at least five people died of Legionnaires’ disease over the summer at a Manhattan nursing home in the city’s worst outbreak, in terms of total cases, since a cooling tower in the Bronx was blamed for an infection that caused 16 deaths. Usually, about 200 to 700 people are diagnosed each year, official health data show,” NBC New York reported on Monday.
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