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"On the basis of epidemiological evidence, we have an epidemic among people who have stayed at [Sheraton Atlanta] during the same period, "the Public Health Department of Georgia told CNN on Tuesday.
Legionnaires are a serious form of non-contagious pneumonia. Guests who complained of lung problems and were later diagnosed with legionnaires had attended a convention at the the Atlanta hotel a few weeks ago.
The bacterium at the origin of Legionnaires has not yet been confirmed at the hotel, which hired external experts to perform tests.
The hotel has voluntarily shut down until the source of the infection is found and sanitation is complete, said the Public Health Department of Georgia. More than 400 guests have been relocated to nearby hotels, said CNN affiliate WSB-TV.
Thousands infected each year
A recent government report reveals that nearly one in 10 people who fall ill with legionnaires' disease will die.
The disease infects approximately 10,000 to 18,000 people in the United States each year. People can get sick by breathing in the mist or accidentally swallowing water in the lungs containing the bacteria that causes the lung infection. According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can be treated with antibiotics.
The hotel's general manager, Ken Peduzzi, said that "the health and safety of our guests are our highest priority".
The hotel is working with the state health department and the Fulton County Health Council and environmental experts to test the bacteria, the health department of Georgia said. The Sheraton Atlanta has closed "as a precaution … while waiting for the results," Peduzzi said.
"This is the typical way these situations are managed, because evaluation and testing can be complicated," said a spokeswoman for the Georgia Ministry of Health. The state health department as well as "epidemiologists from the Fulton County Health Council and environmental health staff will work with them on the next steps of the investigation (technical badessment, plan of the Sampling and submission), "she added.
In addition to transferring existing customers to nearby hotels, the Sheraton also contacts customers with upcoming bookings "to help direct them to other nearby hotels," according to Peduzzi.
James Francey, one of the more than 400 guests transferred, told WSB: "It's a risk of displacement … so, OK, it happens.The CDC is here in town, so that's the way it is. Is awesome. "
sYMPTOMS
The legionnaire begins with a patient who feels tired and weak, according to the educational organization Legionella.org. Cough, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle aches, chest and shortness of breath are other common symptoms. The incubation period, that is to say the time of onset of symptoms after infection with the bacteria at the origin of the disease, is 2 to 10 days.
Described as a "serious form of pneumonia, often fatal," legionaries can cause treatment in an intensive care unit, according to Legionella.org. Some symptoms may be persistent: one study showed that three quarters of survivors continued to feel tired, 66% had neurological symptoms and 63% had neuromuscular symptoms several months after diagnosis.
State Epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek told WSB that past outbreaks have been badociated with "shower heads, hot tubs, maybe even … decorative fountains". Drenzek added that the Sheraton is also working on the hotel's pool filtration system.
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