Sydney city streets have been in lockdown due to yet another outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.
One person is critically ill and two others are being treated in hospital. It follows an earlier outbreak in March which led to the death of an elderly man.
The health department’s director of communicable disease Vicky Sheppeard issued a warning to city workers at a media conference yesterday.
"We're working with the the City of Sydney to inspect and test all cooling towers in the area bounded by Margaret, George, King and Kent Streets," Dr Sheppeard said.
"People can be exposed to the bacteria when a water cooling tower — that is typically located on the roof of a building — emits contaminated water vapour into the air that can then drift down onto the outside street.”
Peter Harding, the manager of health and building in City of Sydney, said there was a team of 16 inspectors testing 67 cooling towers in the area.