New York City health officials have ordered emergency cleaning and disinfection of 10 rooftop cooling towers in the South Bronx after tests found Legionella bacteria linked to a Legionnaires’ disease cluster that has sickened nine people and killed one.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued the orders after preliminary testing confirmed traces of Legionella in 10 of 24 sampled cooling towers. The affected structures include cooling towers at Yankee Stadium and Lincoln Hospital.
The department first identified the cluster following a rise in cases dating back to late August. The tests used were PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which return results quickly but cannot distinguish between live and dead bacteria. Culture tests that confirm live bacteria can take up to two weeks, which is why city health officials ordered immediate cleaning rather than wait for slower confirmation.
Why the Bronx
Dr. Tyler Evans, CEO of the Wellness Equity Alliance and a former first chief medical officer for New York City, said the location of this outbreak fits a pattern.
“When we look at outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, in New York City, we almost always see it in the Bronx or Harlem,” Evans told Fox News Digital. “A lot of times, we see risk of infections taking place in historically marginalized communities.”
Evans also pointed to the season as a factor. Late-summer heat creates favorable conditions for bacteria to grow inside industrial air-conditioning systems, which release water into the surrounding air.
“Record-breaking temperatures lead to accelerating the risk of the bacteria basically cooking, getting out to become vaporized, and then producing exposure to other people,” he said.
Who is at risk, and what to watch for
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia. It cannot spread from person to person, and it is not contracted by drinking tap water. Most healthy people who are exposed do not become ill, but the disease can be serious for certain groups.
“In terms of people … to be concerned about, it’s really older adults — typically 65 and older — or people living with comorbid conditions,” Evans said, citing diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and compromised immune systems as underlying risk factors.
City health officials are urging anyone who has lived in, worked in or visited ZIP codes 10451 and 10456 since late August to monitor their health. Symptoms to watch for include high fevers, severe shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing up bloody mucus.
Evans said early treatment matters because the illness generally responds well to standard antibiotics when caught early.
“Infections fall into different buckets — bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites,” he said. “Bacteria are alive. Antibiotics are effective against bacteria because you can kill them, which makes it very treatable.”
Longer-term concerns
While city officials have moved quickly to inspect and clean the towers, Evans said preventing repeat outbreaks will require sustained investment in public health.
“Could we test all cooling towers across New York City on a regular basis during times of risk when it’s hotter? Yes,” Evans said. “City health officials do an amazing job, but it costs money. When federal funds are removed from public health, it’s very hard to do more when you have less.”
Yankee Stadium and Lincoln Hospital have been asked for comment.
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