Suffolk Supreme Court cooling tower tests positive for bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, but officials say there's no threat to public

A cooling tower atop the state Supreme Court building in Riverhead tested positive on Monday for bacteria responsible for Legionnaires' disease — a serious form of pneumonia linked to six deaths during a New York City outbreak.

There is "no threat to public health," Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino stressed, of the positive Legionella test that was taken for routine mandatory state screening.

The contaminated air did not circulate through the court building, county health officials said in a statement. And the cooling tower, utilized only to cool refrigerant for a closed-loop system, was disinfected Tuesday and  will be rescreened in 3-7 days.

"Out of an abundance of caution, all outside air intake dampers have been shut down," and "we are notifying staff of this test result," the Suffolk County Health Department said in the statement.

Although found in the wild, Legionella thrives in warm water like hot water tanks, hot tubs and cooling towers, officials said. People can then become sickened after inhaling bacteria-laden mists.

Humans cannot spread the bacteria to other individuals, the state Department of Health said on its website. Healthy people tend not to be sickened from it, though those 50 and older or with existing health conditions like cancer or kidney failure can fall ill.

The disease can bring about flu-like conditions like high fever and cough that typically appear within a week and a half after contact with the bacteria, officials said.

In New York City, a community cluster on the Upper East Side this summer has been associated with six deaths and 90 positive tests, health officials said. Roughly 70 people were hospitalized;  six remain so. Dozens of cooling towers in the Manhattan neighborhood have been cleaned after testing positive for the live Legionella bacteria, officials said.

No additional cases have been found since July 17, and city officials believe the root of the outbreak has been removed.

Newsday's Joe Werkmeister contributed to this story.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.