The New York City Health Department ordered 10 cooling towers, including one at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, to be drained, cleaned and disinfected by Sept. 14 after preliminary testing found Legionella bacteria in each.
As of Sept. 12, nine people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in connection with the cluster; three are hospitalized, four have been discharged, one did not require hospitalization and one person has died, according to a Sept. 13 news release.
The positive results came from an initial PCR test, which detects Legionella DNA but cannot confirm whether the bacteria are alive or determine the source of exposure. Confirmatory culture testing can take up to two weeks. Eight of the 10 towers were in compliance with the city’s 31-day testing requirement. Two did not provide required testing information.
NYC Health + Hospitals told Becker’s its facilities teams have completely drained, cleaned and disinfected the cooling tower at Lincoln Hospital and are taking every step possible to protect patients, staff and the surrounding community while assisting the Health Department’s investigation. The system said Lincoln Hospital has been in full compliance with the 31-day Legionella testing schedule and was last tested Aug. 19. It will continue to support and follow the Health Department’s direction.
The South Bronx cluster follows an Upper East Side outbreak in Manhattan this summer that hospitalized more than 50 people and was traced to 76 positive cooling towers, and a Harlem outbreak in 2025 that sickened 92 people and killed seven.
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