New York City health officials have ordered 10 South Bronx cooling towers drained and disinfected after Legionella bacteria turned up in preliminary tests, including one at Yankee Stadium.
At least nine people have fallen ill in the cluster, with one death and three hospitalizations so far, the Health Department announced Sunday. The investigation began Sept. 10 after cases surfaced in the Morrisania and Melrose neighborhoods, prompting city inspectors to fan out across the area.
The towers flagged for remediation sit at multiple addresses, with the Bronx’s NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln medical facility also on the list alongside the ballpark site. Since the probe launched, inspectors have tested 24 cooling towers total across the affected area.
Health officials were careful to note that the PCR testing, while detecting bacterial DNA, does not establish the towers as the definitive outbreak source. “This test can detect the presence of Legionella bacteria DNA but cannot determine whether the bacteria are alive or dead and does not confirm that a cooling tower is the source of exposure. Only live Legionella bacteria can cause illness,” the department said in a statement.
Eight of the flagged towers had met the city’s 31-day testing requirements that took effect May 8. Two properties — 820 Concourse Village West and 1265 Franklin Ave. — failed to provide the required documentation, the department said.
Legionnaires’ disease spreads when people inhale contaminated water mist or droplets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pneumonia-like illness kills roughly 1 in 10 diagnosed patients, with symptoms including fever, chills, muscle aches and cough.
The South Bronx cluster follows a devastating Upper East Side outbreak earlier this summer that claimed 11 lives, putting city health officials on heightened alert for new clusters. That earlier wave of infections had already stretched the department’s resources before the current Bronx investigation began.
The 10 towers now face full investigation and mandatory remediation regardless of whether they ultimately prove to be the outbreak source, with crews moving to drain, clean and disinfect each site under health department supervision.