Legionnaires’ disease outbreak widens on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Guggenheim among sites affected

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The museum’s cooling tower is among 31 that have tested positive for Legionella bacteria, which can thrive in water systems.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.Kevin Hagen / Getty Images file

July 11, 2026, 12:09 PM EDT / Updated July 12, 2026, 1:55 AM EDT

By Aria Bendix and Samantha Cookinham

An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has sickened 56 people on New York City’s Upper East Side, prompting widespread testing of building cooling towers in the area — including at the world-famous Guggenheim museum.

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