Legionnaires disease linked to California spa hot tubs kills two people
- The Zen Day Spa in northern California was not licensed to have a jacuzzi to start
- Health officials are warning all patrons who got sick to be tested for Legionnaires
- READ MORE: Family contracts ‘potentially fatal’ bug after using a resort hot tub
Two patrons of a northern California day spa died from Legionnaires’ disease that health officials fear was lurking in a day spa.
The Legionella bacteria is believed to have contaminated a jacuzzi that the Zen Day Spa in Richmond was not allowed to have in the first place.
County health officials have launched an investigation into the deaths last Thursday afternoon and then Friday morning linked to the bacteria that causes Legionnaires, a serious lung infection, which thrives in humid freshwater environments and can become airborne.
The Contra Costa County officials have also learned of a third person who had become sick with the bacterial infection after visiting the bay area spa, which has been shut down, though that person is said to have recovered.
Legionnaires disease is not always fatal – it is estimated to kill around 10 percent of patients – but older people and people in poor health are especially susceptible especially if they do not start an antibiotic medicine regimen early.
Officials for California’s Contra Costa County health department shuttered the spa on Friday after a second death was reported
County officials are awaiting the results from lab-tested samples from jacuzzi water to confirm that it was contaminated with Legionella
A warm pool in a humid day spa is a prime environment for Legionella bacteria to multiply and become aerosolized, meaning droplets gain the ability to spread through the air where they can be inhaled by unsuspecting bathers.
County health officials have closed the spa, which did not appear to have any form of licensing that allowed it to have a pool or jacuzzi tub.
According to Contra Costa officials: ‘CCH’s [Contra Costa Health’s] Environmental Health inspectors conducted an assessment of the facility and found no existing records indicating the business has ever been issued a permit for a spa or pool.’
The two people who died last week were said to have visited the spa just a few days prior, which would track with the course of disease that Legionnaires takes. The incubation period – or the time between the point at which a person is exposed to a disease-causing pathogen and when they start noticing symptoms.
Whether the two people were in good health or otherwise is unclear. Smokers are especially susceptible to lung infections including Legionnaires, as are people with weakened immune systems and older adults over 50.
The incubation period for Legionnaires ranges from two days to two weeks, meaning the bacteria can live inside a person’s body for at least a day or two before they begin to feel unwell. The symptoms can range in severity but look very similar to a classic case of pneumonia.
Within the first 10 days of exposure, a person may experience high fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, and headache, as well as symptoms more indicative of lung infections such as coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
Early detection of illness and swift prescription of antibiotics is crucial to preventing the worst possible outcomes – being placed on a ventilator due to respiratory failure or dying of pneumonia.
A warm pool in a day spa is a prime environment for Legionella bacteria to multiply and become aerosolized where they can be inhaled by unsuspecting bathers
In addition to possibly causing the lungs to fail, Legionnaires can lead to acute kidney and multi-organ failure as well as neurological damage and sepsis.
Legionnaires cannot be transmitted from person to person in the same way that flu and Covid can, but once bacteria-laced droplets break down into mist suspended in the air, anyone who takes a breath is vulnerable to infection.
The Contra Costa health department has taken samples from the incriminating jacuzzi in order to confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt in lab testing that the water was laden with disease-causing bacteria. If officials’ suspicions are correct, that would mean hundreds if not more patrons could have been exposed.
They said: ‘CCH encourages anyone who may have recently visited Zen Day Spa to watch for symptoms of Legionnaires’ Disease. If they experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, fever, chills and cough, they should seek immediate medical care.’
Officials are also urging healthcare providers in the area to test their sick patients for legionella if they had been to the spa within the last two weeks of their illness.