Sheraton Atlanta Legionnaires’ disease: 11 confirmed, 55 probable outbreak cases

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

In a follow-up on the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak linked to the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) reports 11 lab-confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease and 55 probable cases of Legionnaires’ disease related to this outbreak through July 29.

No deaths have been reported.

Probable cases are people who had illness consistent with Legionnaires’ disease, including pneumonia diagnosed by a clinician or chest X-ray, but without laboratory confirmation. The number of probable cases can change based on additional testing and lab results.

Since the first cases of Legionnaires’ disease were confirmed two weeks ago, epidemiologists from DPH and Fulton County Board of Health (FCBOH) have been reviewing hundreds of survey responses from individuals who stayed at or visited the Sheraton Atlanta between June 12 and July 15, 2019. The surveys help identify people who may have been ill, especially those with severe illness like pneumonia.

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State and local health officials continue to work with the owners of the Sheraton Atlanta on sampling, testing and remediation. The hotel voluntarily closed July 15, 2019, and remains closed. The first set of environmental samples were collected July 19, 2019, and additional samples are being collected today, July 29, 2019. Testing environmental samples takes up to 14 days, and results are pending. The environmental sampling results combined with epidemiology findings will help to inform the next steps, such as remediation.