Four Seasons Palm Springs pool tests positive for Legionella

Water testing of the pool and spa area at Four Seasons Palm Springs was positive for Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease.

The tests linked the bacteria in the pool to the same strain of Legionella that sickened two community residents with Legionnaires’ disease in January.

Environmental testing was ordered in June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after it learned of the two illnesses. The only commonality between the two people sickened with Legionnaires’ disease was that both had used the pool.

Four Seasons management had said it hoped the 55-plus active-retirement community’s common areas could be reopened by July 4. The closure, however, remains in effect until the pool and spa areas have been cleared by the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health (REHS).

“Our department is requiring the pools and spas to remain closed while the Four Seasons works with the remediation company in disinfecting areas/systems,” REHS program chief Dottie Merki wrote in an e-mail.

With the pool returning positive results for Legionella, residents, employees and visitors to Four Seasons Palm Springs who are showing pneumonia- or flu-like symptoms are being advised to seek immediate medical attention from their health-care provider.

Four Seasons Palm Springs: no relief from heat

Residents often use the pool and spa areas as relief from the heat. Daily high temperatures in the Palm Springs area are forecast to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit through the end of this month, so the continued closure – enacted in late June – is a tremendous inconvenience.

To try to provide some relief from the heat during the closure, Four Seasons management has made accommodations for residents to use pool amenities at ARRIVE, a nearby hotel.

Testing of the pool and spa at Four Seasons Palm Springs showed Legionella, which causes Legionnaires’ disease. Two residents became ill in January.

Four Seasons Palm Springs: Legionnaires’ info

Legionnaires’ disease – which is also known as Legionella pneumonia and legionellosis – is a potentially deadly type of lung infection.

According to the CDC, an estimated 25,000 cases of pneumonia due to Legionella bacteria (Legionella pneumophila) occur every year in the United States. Only 5,000 cases are reported, however, because of the disease’s nonspecific signs and symptoms.

Ten percent of people who become infected with Legionnaires’ disease will die from the infection.

Contracting Legionella
Legionella bacteria are taken into the body when a person inhales infected microscopic water droplets, usually in the form of vapor or mist. The bacteria grow best in warm water, and they are primarily found in human-made environments.

Legionella sources
Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease have been linked to a number of sources conducive to the growth of Legionella, including:

• swimming pools
• hot tubs and whirlpools
• large plumbing systems
• showers and faucets
• hot-water tanks and heaters
• decorative fountains
• mist machines and hand-held sprayers
• physical-therapy equipment
• water systems of large building (hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, etc.)
• cooling towers of air conditioning systems.

Legionnaires’ symptoms
Legionnaires’ disease is similar to other forms of pneumonia, and symptoms can even resemble those of flu, which is why it often goes under-reported. Those symptoms include:

• coughing
• difficulty breathing
• high fever
• muscle aches and pains
• severe headaches
• gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.).

High-risk categories
Anyone can become sick with Legionnaires’ disease, but people most susceptible to infection include:

• people 50 or older
• smokers, current and former
• heavy drinkers of alcohol
• people with chronic lung disease
• people with suppressed immune systems
• organ-transplant recipients
• anyone on specific drug protocols (corticosteroids, for example).