Yankee Stadium cooling tower among ten Bronx units testing positive for Legionella

The New York City Health Department announced that a cooling tower at Yankee Stadium was one of ten in the South Bronx that returned a positive PCR result for Legionella bacteria. The department has ordered all affected towers to be drained, cleaned and disinfected by Sept. 14 while culture testing proceeds to determine whether live bacteria are present.

"To reduce the risk of ongoing exposure while culture testing continues, the Health Department is requiring cooling towers with a positive PCR result to conduct a full remediation, including draining, cleaning, and disinfection," the agency said in a news release.

The Yankees confirmed that PCR testing on Sept. 11 detected trace amounts of Legionella DNA in the tower and that a complete remediation was finished on Sunday morning. The club noted that weekly water-quality testing had been performed since August and that the most recent monthly report submitted on Aug. 20 showed no Legionella.

"No current cases have been associated with Yankee Stadium," the team said, adding that the health department had not asked the organization to postpone any games.

Health officials are investigating a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases in the Melrose and Morrisania neighborhoods that has resulted in one death and nine infections. They warned anyone who has been in the area since late August and develops flu-like symptoms to seek medical care.

Cooling towers, which emit fine water mist, have been implicated in past Legionella outbreaks. Culture results, which can take up to two weeks, will indicate whether the bacteria detected by PCR are viable and capable of causing illness.