The Georgia Department of Health says there are 12 lab-confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease, including one death, and 61 probable cases in the state. The cases have been linked to the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Atlanta.
Dr. Allison Chamberlain, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University discussed the outbreak earlier today on the GPB show “On Second Thought.”
“A person contracts Legionnaires’ disease when they breathe in water vapor that contains Legionella bacteria.” Chamberlain said.
“If a person has certain risk factors — primarily, being over the age of 50, immunocompromised, having underlying lung conditions, (then) they're more susceptible to complications from Legionnaires’ disease and can have very serious complications. But, you get it by breathing in this water vapor that has the bacteria in it. “
The disease was first named Legionnaires' by two AP reporters covering mysterious deaths among attendees of an American Legion conference back in 1976.
“Some of the symptoms are shortness of breath fatigue headache fever sometimes nausea and cough primarily after the first few days. It can be lethal. About five to 15% of cases will die, unfortunately, from this disease.”
Eleven cases of Legionnaires' disease have been linked to the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Atlanta. The hotel remains closed after voluntarily shutting down for testing on July 15, 2019.
Credit Marriott.com
The hotel voluntarily closed its doors for testing on July 15, with a proposed reopening on Aug. 11 at the earliest.
That places the reopening very close to Dragon Con scheduled for Labor Day weekend. The festival is the city’s third largest event, with some 85,000 people expected.
