This article is a collaboration with Healthbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News.
A public agency with offices at 26 Federal Plaza notified the General Services Administration of a case of Legionnaires’ disease among one of its employees recently, THE CITY and Healthbeat have learned.
The reported case of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia, comes less than three weeks after GSA found the bacteria that can cause the disease in water throughout the building, which houses immigration court and federal law enforcement offices. Most people exposed to Legionella bacteria do not become sick, but exposure can lead to Legionnaires’ disease, which can be serious or even fatal.
GSA, which operates the building, alerted tenant agencies in an email Monday that an individual connected to 26 Federal Plaza had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease.“No direct connection has been made between this report and the water quality in the building,” a GSA representative said in the email, which was provided to THE CITY and Healthbeat by a worker in the building.
“It’s important to note that due to its natural prevalence, there are many potential sources of exposure to Legionella in the community or even from home water systems,” Deborah Croft, a GSA spokesperson, said in a statement.
GSA is “pursuing a corrective action plan” with a water management company, according to the email sent to tenants on Monday. The agency is offering bottled water to agencies in the building and started routine flushing of water tanks and pipes on Sept. 13. GSA also began routine flushing of all drinking water outlets and showers on Monday and installed filters on all shower heads last week, according to the email.
“This is an alert, an alarm, but I don’t think there’s a need to panic,” said Chuanwu Xi, a professor of environmental health sciences and of global public health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health who has researched the growth of Legionella bacteria.
Most healthy people exposed to Legionella bacteria do not get sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those at increased risk of developing Legionnaires’ disease include current or former smokers, people who are at least 50 years old, or those with cancer, chronic lung disease, diabetes, kidney failure, liver failure, and weakened immune systems. Legionnaires’ disease often requires hospitalization; the disease carries a case fatality rate of about 10%, according to the CDC.
The disease has previously proven deadly in apartment complexes and nursing homes in the New York City region. Earlier this month, three people who tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease died at an Albany assisted living home. In February, THE CITY reported on the death of a public housing resident in Brooklyn due to Legionnaires’ disease.
From 2010 to 2022, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has reported more than 150 cases of Legionnaires’ disease each year, with a peak of 656 cases in 2018, according to a health department report.
Legionnaires’ disease can be easily resolved if caught early and treated with antibiotics, but can become severe if it goes undetected, said Dr. Waleed Javaid, a professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a director of infection prevention.
With the reported case of Legionnaires’ disease at 26 Federal Plaza, Javaid cautioned against panic, emphasizing that more information is needed to understand the extent of the issue. He advised people concerned about their exposure to Legionella to follow public health guidance in the building and keep an eye out for symptoms, including respiratory illness, fevers and confusion.
“Any kind of respiratory illness I have, I should go and get myself checked,” Javaid said.
If a patient tests positive for Legionnaires’ disease, their health care provider must report the case to the city health department. If two or more people who are associated with the same building test positive for Legionnaires’ disease within 12 months of each other, the Health Department will conduct an evaluation of the building.
Patrick Gallahue, a city health department spokesperson, said in a statement that the department follows CDC guidance on building evaluations and can “offer guidance to private landlords who are looking into their own buildings.”
Anyone with flu-like symptoms, fever, cough, or difficulty breathing should seek immediate medical attention, Gallahue added.
In early September, GSA alerted tenants that water testing in the building during late August had found Legionella bacteria in dozens of locations within the complex, including kitchens, locker room showers, drinking fountains and daycare sinks, THE CITY and Healthbeat reported earlier this month. The agency said the testing was part of a “proactive water quality management program” at thousands of the facilities it runs.
On Sept. 9, signs posted at the buildings’ entrances alerted workers and visitors to the presence of Legionella bacteria, but several employees interviewed by THE CITY were unaware of the issue.
GSA — which owns 1,600 federal buildings and leases space in more than 6,500 buildings nationwide — has dealt with issues involving Legionella bacteria in recent years. Last year, the agency’s Office of Inspector General released a memo highlighting elevated levels of the bacteria in multiple GSA-controlled buildings and inadequate testing for Legionella in GSA-operated child-care centers.
Legionella bacteria occurs naturally in lakes and streams and does not usually pose a risk to human health unless it enters a building’s water system and multiplies, driven by stagnant water and warm temperatures. People can become sick by inhaling water droplets containing the bacteria. The bacteria can be especially dangerous in health-care facilities and residential buildings, where it can spread through shower heads, faucets, cooling towers, hot water tanks and plumbing systems.
Growth of the bacteria has become an increasing issue in the United States, largely due to aging infrastructure, Xi said.
“We have aging buildings, and that makes it a little more difficult to manage, and the complexity of the plumbing system contributes to the elevated growth of Legionella in the system,” he said.
Flushing the water system often clears away Legionella growth, and if the bacteria persists, the building management should consider disinfecting the system and flushing it again, he added.
Eliza Fawcett is a reporter covering public health in New York City for Healthbeat.
