First Facility In Westchester Tests Positive For Legionnaire’s Bacteria

The hotel’s cooling tower and all other cooling towers in the affected area were disinfected, and no new patients have contracted Legionnaires’ since August 3, city officials said.

A few more weeks before the school opening, Yonkers officials warned that they have discovered bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease in a Riverside High School cooling tower.

At this time, the Riverside High School in Yonkers has been the only facility in Westchester County to test positive for the bacteria, and there have been no reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Yonkers.

New York City officials also declared the outbreak over, saying there have been no new cases since August 3. “Historic legislation passed by the City Council and signed by Mayor de Blasio should help prevent tragic outbreaks like this from occurring again”.

Additionally, the law has been updated to require cooling towers, fluid coolers, and evaporative condensers to be registered with the City, which must be performed by September. 17.

Under the Department of Health (DOH) regulations, any owner of a building with an existing cooling tower must register the tower with the DOH within 30 days of the Effective Date. Those who do not comply would face fines up to $25,000, WCBS 880’s Rich Lamb reported.

Health experts advised that owners of cooling towers, public spa pools, or warm water systems (for example in hospitals) should have regular maintenance of their equipment to reduce the risk of Legionella contamination. It is spread through contaminated mist and is not contagious.

West Chester University treated cooling towers on campus after Legionnaires’ disease bacteria was detected.