(CNN) One person has died of Legionnaires' disease after staying at a prominent Atlanta hotel, officials said.

Eleven others who stayed at the Sheraton Atlanta have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, while another 61 probable cases have been identified, according to Nancy Nydam, director of communications at Georgia Department of Public Health.

"Probable cases" are people who have symptoms of the disease but have not yet had a laboratory test to confirm the disease -- a serious form of noncontagious pneumonia.

"Based on epidemiological evidence we have an outbreak among people who stayed at the (Sheraton Atlanta) during the same time period," said Nydam. Guests who complained of lung problems and were later diagnosed with Legionnaires' had attended a convention at the Atlanta hotel in early July.

Though the bacterium causing Legionnaires' has not yet been confirmed at the hotel, Sheraton Atlanta voluntarily shuttered its doors and hired outside experts to conduct testing, Nydam said.

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