Yesterday, we had just arrived to the airport after spending the last 3 days in Disneyland when my sister-in-law texted us to ask if we knew about the disease outbreak in Disneyland.

What!?!?!?!?

No, we hadn’t heard anything, but I immediately went to the news to find out what she was talking about. I googled Disneyland outbreak, and the first article to pop up was from the LA times and it had been posted that very morning!!!!

Apparently, the LA Times reported yesterday that 9 people who recently visited Disneyland (12 altogether in Anaheim) came down with Legionnaire’s Disease. This was traced back to a couple of bacteria-infested cooling towers that exposed people to contaminated water/mist.

I opened up my Yahoo app and this was also first story that appeared on the news page. Needless to say, I immediately wanted to know more about Legionnaire’s Disease (we briefly touched on it in nursing school, but I’ve never taken care of anyone suffering from it).

The bacteria Legionella causes the disease. After it grows and multiplies in a building water system, that contaminated water then has to spread in droplets small enough for people to breathe in. People can get Legionnaires’ disease when they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria (CDC, 2017).

In the case of Disneyland, Legionella bacteria were discovered back in September in the cooling towers. Since then, the towers have been disinfected and taken out of service. No further cases have been reported since September.

The disease was named after an outbreak in 1976, when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion got sick with pneumonia (CDC, 2017). Legionella bacteria were identified and were found to be breeding in the cooling tower of the hotel’s air conditioning system.

The main symptoms to watch for include:
• Cough
• Shortness of Breath
• Headache
• Muscle Aches
• Fever

It can take anywhere for 2 to 10 days for symptoms to occur, and it’s very easy to mistake Legionnaire’s symptoms for any illnesses such as the flu or other types of pneumonia.

Treatment requires antibiotics and unfortunately, 1 out of every 10 people who get it die. In the case of the 12 reported cases in Anaheim, 1 person has died (they had other health complications as well).

People over the age of 50, have weakened immune systems, or suffer from some type of lung disease are all at higher risk for acquiring Legionnaire’s disease after exposure. All of the cases reported in Anaheim were individuals ages 52 – 94.

So while it is not all that common, it’s very scary and important to have some basic knowledge about Legionnaire’s disease. Here is a link to a great fact sheet from the CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/downloads/fs-legionnaires.pdf

Cheers.