Guggenheim listed among buildings with Legionella-positive cooling towers

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New York City health officials reported preliminary PCR screening found Legionella in cooling towers at 31 Upper East Side properties, including the Guggenheim Museum at 1071 Fifth Ave., though authorities said a PCR result does not prove the source. The cluster reached 46 confirmed Legionnaires' cases with 22 people still hospitalized and no deaths reported. More than 180 cooling towers have been sampled, and the city ordered immediate cleaning and disinfection of PCR-positive towers while awaiting culture tests that take about two weeks to confirm live bacteria, and officials said new cases may still emerge.

City ordered cleaning of cooling towers with positive PCR results.