Officials identify Bronx cooling towers possibly linked to deadly Legionnaires' cluster
Seven of the 10 cooling towers initially identified in the outbreak have tested positive for live Legionella, according to officials.
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The New York City Department of Health says it has identified the cooling towers that may be linked to the deadly Legionnaires' community cluster in the South Bronx.
Seven of the 10 cooling towers initially identified in the outbreak have tested positive for live Legionella, according to officials. One cooling tower that returned a positive test is BronxCare's Martin Luther King Jr. Health Center, located at 1265 Franklin Ave.
A second notable location that tested positive for live Legionella is 820 Concourse Village West, an office building that houses the Social Security Administration.
As of Thursday, 23 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease. Two of those people have died and three remain hospitalized.
Health officials first announced the community cluster on Sept. 10. It initially included zip codes 10451 and 10456. Two additional zip codes, 10455 and 10459, were linked to the outbreak on Sunday.
Three days later, the Department of Health released the locations of the 10 towers that returned a positive PCR test, meaning growing Legionella was present at the time of testing.
The actual presence of live Legionella is confirmed through a culture test. Only the living form of the bacteria can cause Legionnaires' disease.
Health officials say all seven towers with live Legionella were cleaned and disinfected early last week, following the positive PCR tests.
Officials say the culture tests for the three remaining cooling towers, including Yankee Stadium and Lincoln Hospital, are pending.
The Health Department held multiple town halls to keep residents up to date and informed about the outbreak. Officials have not released a date for an additional meeting as of Thursday night.
