According to California health officials, at least one person died and 11 others were sickened by Legionnaires' disease in Napa County, including three people who are still hospitalized with the rare illness.
The county health department said that the Legionella bacteria that causes the disease has been detected in the cooling tower of the Embassy Suites Napa Valley in the city of Napa. An investigation is ongoing, however, and other possible sources of the bacteria are being tested, according to NBC News.
Napa County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Relucio said during Wednesday's news conference that none of the 12 who were sickened in the outbreak that started July 11 stayed at the hotel, and they were not employees.
Majority of people infected live in the area where Embassy Suites is
Relucio said that all 12 people are residents of Napa County and not tourists. She added that in many of the cases, they live in the area where the hotel is. Three people remained hospitalized as of Wednesday, and one of those patients was on a ventilator. The other eight patients have recovered.
The Legionella bacteria lives in water, but it can spread when that water is aerosolized, according to Mayo Clinic. The health officer said that if a cooling tower is contaminated with the bacteria, it can disseminate for up to a mile.
According to the health department, that cooling tower has now been taken offline which mitigates any ongoing risk to public health. The department added that it is also common to find more than one source in an outbreak area.
Legionnaires' disease is a dangerous illness as it causes severe pneumonia. The person who died because of it was described as being over 50 years old and with risk factors for severe disease. Relucio said that the ages of people who got the disease range from 58 to 80.
Legionnaires' disease is a rare illness
She said the one thing they noticed is that a lot of them have had underlying medical conditions like kidney disease, lung disease, diabetes, or other chronic diseases. Hilton, the company that owns Embassy Suites, did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on Wednesday night.
She added that health officials have not identified any hotel guests or employees who contracted Legionnaires' disease, although the incubation period for the illness can be 14 days. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not everyone exposed to the bacteria gets the disease, and most healthy people exposed don't get it.
Among those at increased risk in getting the rare illness are people 50 and older, those who are immunocompromised, and current or former smokers or people with lung conditions. According to the federal agency, the bacteria exists naturally in bodies of freshwater like lakes, but its main threat to people occurs when it grows and spreads in human-made building water systems. Legionnaires' disease is rare as Napa County usually sees zero to two Legionella cases a year.
