City museums failed to warn visitors about Legionnaires contamination potentially endangering thousands

Tens of thousands of people could have been exposed to Legionnaires’ disease at crowded NYC institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art — but a Post review found that none warned visitors that they may have been exposed to the potentially deadly bug.The Upper East Side outbreak has killed five New Yorkers and sickened 87, with 77 cooling towers testing positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria since July 2.Major city attractions including The Met, the Guggenheim Museum, a Marriott Hotel, and All Souls Church all had cooling towers that tested positive, according to the city Department of Health.Yet none of the half dozen prominent contaminated sites posted signage or warnings on their websites that visitors might have been exposed to the deadly bacteria and should seek medical testing.A Guggenheim gift shop worker told The Post that museum staff was notified about the Legionnaires’ outbreak on July 8 but that employees were not informing customers.To learn if a business has tested positive for the bacteria, an individual would need to look up its address on the Health Department website.

Delay in diagnosis and treatment could be the difference between life or death, experts said.Legionnaire’s disease, a form of pneumonia, spreads when people inhale mist or tiny water droplets from water sources contaminated with Legionella bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The disease is fatal in about 1 in 10 diagnosed cases.The first 24 hours after contagion is critical to avoiding serious illness or even death, Dr.

Natalie Exum, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, told The Post.“You need to get diagnosed within 24 hours because of how severe the disease can get..

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That’s what you want.To catch it early so you don’t end up in the ICU,” she said.Visitors outside The Met were furious when told about the absence of notification.“Why isn’t there public awareness or why do we not know going into...