Former Luxor guest dies of Legionnaires’ disease

That case was one of three reported in the past year involving former Luxor guests, health officials said. Citing privacy laws, health officials didn’t reveal the name of the person who died in December.

All of the cases were reported to the health district in the past year through the national surveillance program overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 12,000 Americans each year are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

The Strip resort’s water was tested after two potential cases were reported last spring, but no Legionella bacteria were found, according to Brian Labus, senior epidemiologist with the health district. Those guests recovered.

Testing of the water done after the CDC reported the death to the health district on Jan. 6 found conclusively that the Legionella bacteria were present in the water system, a preliminary investigative report issued by the health district revealed. The incubation period for the disease is between 10 days and two weeks, Labus said.

No other reports of the disease at the Luxor, which has about 2 million guests a year, have been made.

Labus said the Luxor immediately began a remediation program after the health district notified MGM Resorts International of the problem.

MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said water temperatures were raised to 160 degrees, and purifying chemicals were released into the water system, to kill the bacteria. About 500 of the hotel’s 4,400 rooms that were thought to be on the same contaminated water loop were initially involved, he said.

“We’re going to look at all the rooms,” he said, explaining that some guests were moved for inspections while most rooms were examined after patrons checked out.

TRACKING THE DISEASE

Legionella, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease, is often found in air conditioning cooling towers, whirlpool spas, showers, faucets or other water sources. The bacterium can rapidly reproduce in warm, stagnant waters. Although tests can show evidence of bacteria, the disease is caught only through inhaling contaminated water vapor.

The national surveillance system for the disease basically consists of this: When an individual is diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, generally in his hometown, it is reported to his state’s public health system.

Those officials investigate where the individual has been, then report the likely place for infection to the CDC. The federal agency then reports it to the applicable health district, in this case the Southern Nevada Health District, which investigates to see whether the bacteria are present at the location suspected to be the source of infection.

MGM Resorts already is embroiled in a federal lawsuit brought by guests who said they were infected with Legionella at the Aria resort between June 21 and July 4 after the health district reported six cases of Legionnaires’ disease in July. Those guests recovered.

In August, eight guests sued, seeking $337.5 million in damages. MGM Resorts has denied negligence. The case is still pending.

Labus said there is no reason to think that MGM Resorts suffers from a system failure in keeping the water supply safe among its resorts.

“The fact that both of the hotels were owned by the same organization is just a coincidence,” he said.

Unlike the Aria situation, where health district officials asked hotel officials to send letters notifying former guests of the outbreak, health district officials did not ask MGM officials to send letters to former guests of the Luxor.

Health district spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said Monday that the district, after consulting the CDC, felt the public notice given Monday would reach people faster. She also said health departments across the country have been notified of the situation and were asked to contact the Southern Nevada Health District of any possible cases.

Since the first news of Legionnaires’ disease being contracted at Aria broke in mid-July, it doesn’t appear as if visitation to Las Vegas has been affected.

Tourism numbers continue to rise, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority earlier this month reported 21 straight months of increases. Year-to-date as of November, the last month for which numbers are available, visitor volume is up 4.4 percent for Las Vegas.

IN THE AFTERMATH

Sizemore said in the week since the health district got conclusive evidence of Legionnaires’ disease at the Luxor the district has worked to inform public health officials across the country, done further assessments at the hotel and set up help lines for others who may call in after the public notice.

The CDC’s Skinner said Legionella can be found in many locations, including natural as well as artificial water systems. It is possible, he said, that others could have come down with the disease and were treated with antibiotics, but the cases were never diagnosed as Legionnaires’ disease.

Skinner said health experts think the “12,000 number” used in reference to people hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease across the country is “a gross underestimation,” saying many experts think the individuals are treated without a correct diagnosis being made.

“If you catch it quickly enough, antibiotics usually takes care of it,’ ” he said, noting that doctors must do a specific test to confirm the diagnosis.

The MGM’s Absher said that Legionella is a concern for all large buildings and that Luxor has comprehensive water management in place, which includes regular testing.

“We continue to monitor our water quality regularly to ensure the safety of the water system and our guests,” he said.

Legionnaire’s disease can be very serious. The CDC reports it can cause death in 5 percent to 30 percent of cases.

Testing, at $200 a sample, is not inexpensive, health experts note. Just testing faucets and showers in a room can cost $1,000. The 23 samples recently taken cost about $46,000.

Legionnaire’s disease was first identified in 1976 when an outbreak of pneumonia sickened hundreds of people who had attended an American Legion convention at Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, resulting in dozens of deaths. Initially a mystery, the cause of the disease was not identified for several months.

There have been more than 60 reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Las Vegas Valley since records have been kept, including another confirmed death in 1981. After an outbreak at the Polo Towers in 2001, in which three guests of the time-share condominiums on the Strip had contracted the disease, health district officials issued new regulations designed to protect the public.

The regulations targeted hotels, motels, resorts and other commercial buildings to maintain proper chlorine levels in pools and spas and ensure temperatures in water heaters are escalated periodically to 150 degrees to kill the bacteria.

Review-Journal writer Laura Carroll contributed to this report. Contact reporter Paul Harasim at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2908.