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Five people who have stayed at a prominent hotel in downtown Atlanta contracted Legionnaire's disease, which led to an investigation Monday, officials said.
"On the basis of epidemiological evidence, we have an epidemic among people who have stayed at [Sheraton Atlanta] during the same period, "said Nancy Nydam, director of communications at the Ministry of Public Health of Georgia, 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 bacteria causing
legionaries
has not yet been confirmed at the hotel, which hired external experts to perform tests.
The hotel has voluntarily closed until the source of the infection is found and sanitation is complete. Said Nydam. More than 400 guests were transferred to nearby hotels,
Subsidiary of CNN, WSB-TV
reported.
Thousands infected each year
Sure
one in 10
those who fall ill with legionnaires' disease will die, according to a recent government report.
The disease infects approximately
10,000 to 18,000 people in the United States
every 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's health department, the Fulton County Health Council and environmental experts to look for 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 handled, because evaluation and testing can be complicated," Nydam said. 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
Legionnaires start 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 long term:
A study
showed that three-quarters of survivors continued to feel tired, 66% had neurological symptoms and 63% had neuromuscular symptoms months after their diagnosis.
Scientists have dubbed the disease "Legionnaires' disease" following an epidemic in Philadelphia in 1976, mostly among people attending an American Legion convention, according to the CDC. Subsequently, the bacteria at the origin of the disease was named Legionella pneumophila.
Cherie Drenzek, State Epidemiologist
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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