Just three days prior,\u00a0there were only 2 cases of the disease<\/a>, which is centered in the Yorkville and Carnegie Hill neighborhoods, the city said in an update. The impacted ZIP codes are 10028, 10128, and 10075, and no deaths have been associated with this cluster of illness.<\/p>\n Legionnaires<\/a>\u2018 disease is a type of serious pneumonia that causes cough, fever, headaches, shortness of breath and nausea. While it can be treated with antibiotics, in serious cases, it can lead to lung failure and death, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control<\/a> says.<\/p>\n View of the Yorkville neighborhood in New York\u2019s Upper East Side It\u2019s generally not spread from person to person; rather, it\u2019s contracted by inhaling mist that contains Legionella bacteria, per the CDC. Cooling towers are often a source of Legionnaires\u2019 disease outbreaks because they\u2019re filled with water.<\/p>\n \u201cThe likely source of the bacteria causing this pneumonia is a cooling tower in the affected area,\u201d city officials said in an update.<\/a> \u201cCooling towers are water systems usually found on the top of buildings. They control the temperature of cooling systems, such as refrigeration. The cooling towers spray mist that contains the bacteria. All cooling towers in the affected area are being tested by the Health Department.\u201d<\/p>\n As Johns Hopkins Medicine<\/a> explains, \u201cIf not properly maintained, the water can foster Legionella bacteria, which can then be swept into the system\u2019s fans and circulated throughout the building\u2019s air.\u201d<\/p>\n The city said that plumbing systems in the impacted ZIP codes are not suspected to carry the bacteria, adding, \u201cIt is safe for you to drink water, bathe, shower, cook, and use your air conditioner. Continuing to use your air conditioner is especially important when the city is experiencing extreme heat and temperatures reach dangerously high levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Stock image of a water cooling tower Sign up for From the Editor<\/a>, our free weekly newsletter from PEOPLE\u2019s Editor-in-Chief, Charlotte Triggs.<\/p>\n Anyone who lives or works in the impacted areas, or visited the neighborhoods since late June, should contact a health care provider \u201cimmediately\u201d if they experience \u201cflu-like symptoms, such as cough, fever, or difficulty breathing,\u201d officials said.<\/p>\n Along with residences, schools, and hospitals, the impacted area includes such high-traffic destinations as Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>\u2018s official residence, Gracie Mansion<\/a>, and Museum Mile, which includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.<\/p>\n Last summer, cooling towers were behind a Legionnaires\u2019 outbreak in Harlem<\/a> that caused 6 deaths and sickened more than 100 others.<\/p>\n![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/c2dd10a9a1f419718ddff6b6cbe9a378.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Andrew Burton\/Getty<\/p>\n