Deadly bacteria detected as NYC orders emergency cleaning of cooling towers - Fox News

New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ordered immediate cleaning and disinfection of 10 rooftop cooling towers in the South Bronx after preliminary tests detected Legionella bacteria.
The remediation follows a Legionnaires' disease cluster that has sickened nine people and caused one death, with cases surging since late August.
Among the affected sites are cooling towers at major hubs including Yankee Stadium and Lincoln Hospital, with Legionella traces confirmed in 10 of 24 sampled towers.
Officials relied on rapid PCR testing, which cannot distinguish live from dead bacteria, and ordered cleaning as a precaution while slower culture tests, which can take up to two weeks, are completed.
Dr. Tyler Evans, CEO of the Wellness Equity Alliance and former New York City chief medical officer, noted that outbreaks in the city almost always occur in the Bronx or Harlem, pointing to systemic vulnerabilities in historically marginalized communities.
Late-summer heat has worsened conditions, as record-breaking temperatures allow bacteria to thrive inside industrial air-conditioning systems and become vaporized, increasing exposure risk; Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia, is not spread between people.