Hantavirus was not the cause of the Belmont Park worker's death

The death of a worker at the Belmont Park Racetrack this month was the result of a bacterial sepsis, and not the hantavirus, a disease originally transmitted by the rat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After the man collapsed on June 1 on the runway next to the rundown employees' housing run by the New York Racing Association, and that he died less than a week later, the Public health officials have suspected hantavirus. A commercial laboratory found the man, whose name has not been publicly released, tested positive for anti-hantavirus antibodies, according to the health department. But subsequent tests by the C.D.C. concluded that sepsis, a bacterial infection of the blood, was the real cause of the death of man; the results were published on Friday.

The hantavirus is mainly contracted by breathing air contaminated with the excrement and urine of rats. Inspectors and epidemiologists from the State Department of Health, who arrived last week at Belmont Park in Elmont, found traces of vermin and bed bugs in the cottages and barracks where the grooms are staying. the harness. The health department ordered the resettlement of 32 workers.

"We were very concerned about the conditions that were observed during the inspection and that still let us see the possibility of diseases transmitted by rodents, regardless of the cause of the death of this person," said Brad Hutton. the Ministry of Health of the State.

The New York Racing Association began cleaning up, repairing the holes where the rats travel smoothly to working-class neighborhoods, ensuring garbage and feeding garbage cans.

"NYRA," said Patrick McKenna, spokesman for the race association, in an e-mail. "We are committed to modernizing Belmont Park facilities to support the health and well-being of the community. . "NYRA will continue to fight pest control measures throughout the Belmont Park and will implement all recommendations of the State of New York. "