Legionella bacteria have been detected in a cooling tower at Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx, New York City health officials said on Sunday afternoon.
The neighborhood has been grappling with a recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has killed one person and infected nine others.
The city’s Health Department has ordered 10 cooling towers in the South Bronx to be cleaned and disinfected, including the one at Yankee Stadium. The towers tested positive for the presence of the bacteria. The tests, conducted last Thursday, did not determine whether the bacteria were alive or whether any of the 10 towers was a source of exposure. Bacteria must be alive to cause illness.
The Yankees did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Three people who were infected were hospitalized as of Sunday, city health officials said. The outbreak is clustered in parts of the Melrose and Morrisania neighborhoods.
People who are infected typically develop flulike symptoms, including fever, cough and difficulty breathing. Most cases can be treated with antibiotics. New Yorkers in the affected area are being asked to contact medical providers immediately if they develop symptoms.
The new cases come after a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side over the summer, which was one of the deadliest in the city’s history. It killed 11 and infected more than 90 people. The city declared the outbreak over at the end of July.
Yankee Stadium hosted a three-game series between the Yankees and the Mets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
City health officials said that people who had visited the stadium were not at greater risk than anyone who had visited the two ZIP codes, 10451 and 10456, where the cluster is located.
“Anyone who lives, works, or has visited the area since late August and develops flulike symptoms should contact a health care provider immediately,” the Health Department said in a news release.
Cooling towers release water mist into the air outside. City health officials said it was safe to use air-conditioners and to shower and drink tap water in the affected neighborhoods.
Health officials said that people who were at increased risk of getting sick included those who are 50 and older, who smoke or vape or who have chronic lung disease.
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