Yankee Stadium Tower Tests Positive for Legionella as Bronx Outbreak Sickens 9, Kills 1
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 14
Yankee Stadium Tower Tests Positive for Legionella as Bronx Outbreak Sickens 9, Kills 1
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 14
Summary
Trace amounts of Legionella were found in a Yankee Stadium cooling tower through a Sept. 11 PCR test, and the Yankees said they completed full remediation Sunday morning.
10 South Bronx cooling towers, including the one at 1 E. 161st St., were ordered cleaned and disinfected by Sept. 14 after the city identified a recent Legionnaires' disease cluster.
PCR results show bacterial DNA but not whether the bacteria are alive, so health officials said it remains unclear whether any of the towers contributed to the outbreak; culture testing could take up to two weeks.
No cases have been linked to Yankee Stadium, and the Health Department did not ask the team to postpone games, though officials urged anyone in the area since late August with flu-like symptoms to seek care.
The South Bronx outbreak has killed 1 person and infected 9 others, following a separate Upper East Side outbreak this summer that killed 11 and sickened more than 90.