5 hours ago
22
The New York Yankees shared an urgent health warning before Friday's Subway Series matchup with the crosstown Mets, only to be faced with a great deal of suspicion from visiting fans.
As reported by the New York City Department of Health earlier in the day, a cluster of Legionnaires' disease cases have been diagnosed in the South Bronx. And since 50,000 people or so were on their way to the neighborhood, both the Yankees and Mets took to social media to issue a warning to fans.
The post shared by the Yankees reported that five people in the area were diagnosed as of Thursday, including one who has since died from the severe form of pneumonia.
But for Mets fans who were happy to see their team win 7 of the last 10 after what has been a miserable season, news of a Legionnaires' outbreak rang hollow.
'Mets so hot the Yankees are taking extreme measures to stop them including starting an outbreak,' one fan joked on X.
Many Mets fans used the outbreak to accuse the Yankees, their fans and their ballpark of being somehow 'dirty.'
The Yankees shared an urgent health warning before Friday's matchup with the crosstown Mets in the Bronx, where an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has been detected
It's been six years since Mr. Met donned a mask, but a few Mets fans could use them Friday
'Another reason why Citi Field is better!' another Mets fan added, referring to the team's ballpark in Queens.
Others were more direct.
'The Bronx is disgusting,' one Mets fan wrote.
'Yankees fans stink so much they infected Yankee Stadium,' another added, blaming rival fans' hygiene for the problem.
Despite the outbreak, the surging Yankees are still set to host their crosstown National League rivals at 7.05pm on Friday night. The Mets will have rookie Nolan McLean on the hill against the Bombers' veteran southpaw Carlos Rodon.
Legionnaires has not been limited to the Bronx in New York this year.
Legionnaires' disease is caused by the Legionella bacteria that thrives in warm and damp locations. It can become airborne in water vapor and then be breathed in by people
As of July 22, five people had died and 82 had tested positive for Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia spread through contaminated water vapor that kills one in ten patients.
Most of the buildings found with live bacteria were on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Legionnaires' disease is caused by the Legionella bacteria that thrives in warm and damp locations. It can become airborne in water vapor and then be breathed in by people, potentially triggering an infection.
Common sources for the Legionella bacteria include centralized air conditioning systems, hot tubs, water fountains and large building plumbing systems.
The disease does not spread from person to person.
