--- title: Don't Worry, There's Probably No Bubonic Plague on NYC Subways description: A scary study that suggested bubonic plague might be riding NYC subways along with commuters has been toned down by the study authors. canonical: https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T16:40:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:18.463Z article:section: Health og:title: Don't Worry, There's Probably No Plague on the NYC Subway og:description: The findings of a widely publicized study may have been overblown og:url: https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6bd1479f714f4d7/69885d93cd1bba3f786fc901/subway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5120 og:image:height: 2880 og:image:alt: 139626652 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Don't Worry, There's Probably No Plague on the NYC Subway twitter:description: The findings of a widely publicized study may have been overblown twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6bd1479f714f4d7/69885d93cd1bba3f786fc901/subway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Don't Worry, There's Probably No Bubonic Plague on NYC Subways > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=fbcf90a8-1640-4588-b382-5fdc5ebc0b61&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Half Of DNA, Bacteria In NYC Subways Are Unknown [Watch (HLS stream): Half Of DNA, Bacteria In NYC Subways Are Unknown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ah09EAQf.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2015-02-06. Germaphobes, you’ve been warned. While Cornell researchers made some truly astounding findings when they did city-wide mapping of DNA and other microorganisms on subway surfaces, many of the microbes are there for our good._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Aug 3, 2015 4:40 PM UTC  Inside a subway train, NYC Inside a subway train, NYC Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Aug 3, 2015 4:40 PM UTC If you gave up riding the New York City subway after a study suggested it might be hosting bubonic plague, then it’s time to buy yourself an MTA card — the study’s conclusion has been walked back by its authors. The research, which was published in February in the journal _Cell Systems_, suggested that there were possible traces of bubonic plague and anthrax on New York City subways in addition to other microbes. [In a correction](http://www.cell.com/cell-systems/abstract/S2405-4712%2815%2900016-2) added to the study on July 29, the researchers underline the very speculative nature of their findings. In reference to the bubonic plague and anthrax findings, the researchers write, “there is minimal coverage to the backbone genome of these organisms, and there is no strong evidence to suggest these organisms are in fact present, and no evidence of pathogenicity.” When the researchers’ findings were first published several months ago, medical experts at the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York City Department of Health took issue and publicly [called them into question](http://www.cell.com/cell-systems/fulltext/S2405-4712%2815%2900016-2). In the wake of the study’s release, the researchers [admitted](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/nyregion/bubonic-plague-in-the-subway-system-dont-worry-about-it.html) they could not be completely certain the bacteria they found was indeed bubonic plague, but the findings were not updated until last Wednesday. Despite the correction, the research has not been retracted. ## Transcript Germaphobes, you've been warned. Every fear you've probably ever conceived is in the subways of New York City. But don't worry too much, there are still a whole lot of things keeping. Keeping you healthy down there too. A bacteria mapping project from Cornell University researchers wanted to document both, microorganisms and DNA recovered from everyday surfaces on a city- wide scale. And, what better way to get samples representing the full gamut of the population, than the subway. The results? Nearly half of the DNA, 48 % does not match any known organism. If you're not sufficiently freaked out just yet, the lead researcher, Chris Mason, says traces of bubonic plague were found uptown. And in the southern part of the city, Mason told the Wall Street Journal bacteria found there had only previously been seen in Antarctica. That could have something to do with Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which slammed South Ferry. Station. Speaking of the astounding amount of dust and other DNA researchers found Mason also said essentially all of the rats or mice that you might see in the subway as the train goes through it kicks up the air and then coats the entire subway system like snow of their DNA. Now, everybody just calm down. While the scary or gross microorganisms in DNA are going to make headlines, there's also an astounding number of microbes essential for positive things like consuming waste. One of the most important notes of this entire research is that we're surrounded by hundreds of millions of trillions. of bacteria, and yet most of us are just fine. They're just us, they're not, this alien invasion force of, of, evil bacteria . >> Researchers say they're hopeful mapping systems can lead to major cities being able to tell how and whether disease spread through the population detect bio- terror threats, and maybe even how to predict areas that people should avoid if there is an outbreak. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/"},"headline":"Don't Worry, There's Probably No Bubonic Plague on NYC Subways","datePublished":"2015-08-03T16:40:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:18.463Z","description":"The findings of a widely publicized study may have been overblown","url":"https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","New York City"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6bd1479f714f4d7/69885d93cd1bba3f786fc901/subway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6bd1479f714f4d7/69885d93cd1bba3f786fc901/subway.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"139626652","caption":"139626652","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3982289/bubonic-plague-nyc-subway/","name":"Don't Worry, There's Probably No Bubonic Plague on NYC Subways"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Half Of DNA, Bacteria In NYC Subways Are Unknown","description":"Germaphobes, you’ve been warned. 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