Cooling towers at Yankee Stadium test positive for Legionnaires’ in new cluster

The New York City Health Department has ordered 10 cooling towers in the South Bronx to be cleaned and disinfected after preliminary testing found the presence of Legionella bacteria as officials investigate a cluster in ZIP codes 10451 and 10456.

Two of the locations are tied to high-profile sites: one cooling tower is at Yankee Stadium, 1 E. 161st St., where the Yankees played the Mets in the Subway Series on Sunday, and another is at 234 E. 149th St., the address of Lincoln Hospital. The Boricua College Bronx Campus is 890 Washington Ave. is also among the sites.

NYC officials on Sunday said there are now nine confirmed cases connected to the cluster; three people were hospitalized and one person has died.

Mandatory cleaning and disinfection of the 10 cooling towers is expected to be finished by Monday, the health department said.

The 10 towers tested positive for the presence of Legionella bacteria through an initial PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

“The one limitation, the one thing wrong with the PCR test, is it can’t tell us if the DNA is live legionella or dead,” NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin explained in a virtual town hall for people…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health