The Southern Nevada Health District is investigating two cases of the pneumonia causing Legionnaires’ disease contracted by guests who stayed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
One case occurred in December 2023, and the other in June 2024. In the former case, all water samples taken by health investigators came up negative for the Legionella bacteria which causes the virus.
However, the property was tested again after the June case, and one sample from 19 was found to be contaminated with the bacteria. Caesars Entertainment, owner and operator of the casino resort, immediately fixed the problem, and subsequent samples came up negative.
However, health officials said that anyone who stayed at the property between July 11 and July 24, 2024, should report potential exposure if they feel symptoms of the disease.
“Caesars Palace maintains a robust safety program to minimize the potential for the Legionella bacteria to survive in the water systems at its property that meet or exceed industry standards. In addition, we immediately took further steps to remediate the presence of any trace amounts of Legionella bacteria relating to the two instances being investigated by the Southern Nevada Health District,” said Caesars Palace spokesperson Dayna Calkins.
The Investigation
Public health investigators closely monitor Legionnaires’ cases connected to Las Vegas, as the causes of the disease are relatively easy to fix, and the potentially deadly disease can have a big effect on hospitality operators.
After discovering a case, the Southern Nevada Health District will test water samples in public places with links to the person who contracted it. Legionnaires’ spreads via droplets of infected water. It often occurs in large buildings where some sort of leak is allowed to pool as stagnant water.
In this case, they traced the Las Vegas visitors’ Legionnaires’ back to Caesars Palace. In the first instance, from December 2023, no water samples tested positive for the Legionella bacteria. In July 2024, though, one sample out of 18 did. Caesars Entertainment has already rectified the issue, the Health District said.
However, people who visited the property at around that time should remain vigilant for potential symptoms. That includes shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches, and headaches.
Guests who believe they may have contracted the disease from Caesars Palace can get in contact with the Health District via this open survey.
The Disease
Most healthy younger adults should not be at risk from Legionnaires’ disease. However, the infection can be serious in senior citizens and those with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems.
The pneumonia-causing disease is named after the 1976 outbreak at a Philadelphia conference of the American Legion, which led to its classification. Approximately 200 veterans caught the disease from the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (now closed), and 39 of them died in the following weeks.
Given the swift diagnosis, Legionnaires’ disease is treatable in most cases via antibiotics. Urban outbreaks can be prevented in the first place with good maintenance of water systems in large buildings. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 cases a year are treated in hospitals in the U.S.
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