New York State Department of Health Provides Update on Nassau County Investigation

CDC Testing Rules Out Hantavirus

Test Results Show Belmont Worker Likely Died of Bacterial Sepsis

Bacterial Sepsis Not Transmitted from Human to Human, Belmont Park Visitors Not at Risk

All NYRA Remediation Efforts Continue Under Department of Health Oversight

Albany, NY (June 23, 2018) The New York State Department of Health today announced that confirmatory testing of clinical specimens from a recently-deceased Belmont backstretch worker sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention returned a negative result for hantavirus. The samples were sent to the CDC for confirmation, per Department protocol, following a positive result for hantavirus at a commercial laboratory in California. Based on CDC findings and the Department of Health’s ongoing investigation, the probable cause of death is bacterial sepsis.

Bacterial sepsis is a condition in which the infectious agent, in this case the common bacteria known as Klebsiella, has spread throughout the body. Bacterial sepsis can become life threatening if the immune system is overwhelmed.

The employee, whose name is being withheld to protect privacy, was found unconscious on June 1 outside the housing unit in the Belmont backstretch where the patient lived and was transported to a hospital, and later died on June 6.

Based on the conditions observed during the Department of Health investigation, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) will continue all remediation efforts under Department of Health oversight. NYRA has relocated employees who were living in substandard housing and agreed to immediately overhaul its pest control management practices including more rigorous building maintenance to limit routes of entry, an improved strategy for waste management, better overall monitoring, and improved rodent trapping and control practices.