Number of Legionnaires' cases up in Fla.

Published: March. 18, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Order reprints
ORLANDO, Fla., March 18 (UPI) -- There were 155 reported cases of Legionnaires' disease in Florida last year, three times the number in 2000.

Ten of the victims died, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Legionnaires' disease, a severe respiratory infection, was first identified after an outbreak at an American Legion convention at a Philadelphia hotel in 1976 that killed 29 people. The bacterium grows in water and is sometimes found in swimming pools, hot tubs and air conditioning systems.

Orange County health officials announced last week that two tourists who stayed at a hotel near Universal Studios had been diagnosed with the disease.

Health officials say Legionnaires' remains a minor risk in Florida, given the millions of tourists who visit the state each year. Dain Weister of the Orange County Health Department said there were 13 cases in a county with a population of 1 million -- plus the tourists who come to Disney World and other resorts.

"It's not an astronomical number," Weister said. "It's not a sign we've got a major problem."


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Man charged with blasting porn soundtrack (2 min)
NOAA: El Nino developing in Pacific (3 min)
Weather could delay shuttle launch (5 min)
Iranian cleric calls for clearer laws (12 min)
Swine flu kills healthy patient (15 min)
Critics: Honduras suppressing broadcasters (22 min)
Treasure hunters search for meteorite (24 min)
fark
Emergency evacuation of 747, pants before or after noxious odor spilled into cabin
Iran condemns Italy for "violent suppression of justice-seeking protesters by the Italian police"...
Only the Royals would consider Yuniesky Betancourt a 'major trade'. Second paragraph- 'Betancourt,...
Probably the most spectacularly disturbing suicide you'll read about today
Photoshop these creepy earrings
Patronizing Tijuana hookers while on drugs may be unhealthy, according to Dr. N.S. Sherlock, of...