The SuperMedia Hotel and Conference Center, a hotel near the Dallas airport, closed temporarily this week after a guest was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease. It is not yet known if the guest contracted the disease at the hotel or elsewhere, but the hotel closed temporarily while tests are being conducted.
“A guest at the hotel attached to SuperMedia’s offices was treated for Legionnaires’ disease and released from a nearby hospital. After the one case was initially reported to us, we took the precautionary step of asking our employees to work from alternate locations while the appropriate tests were being conducted. No other cases have been reported and we don’t know that this case originated from the hotel,” Andrew Shane, a SuperMedia spokesperson, told Food Poisoning Bulletin.
Legionnaires’ Disease is a lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria which got its name when a number of people attending a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia came down with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Legionella bacteria occur naturally in the environment and grow best in warm water. They are most commonly found in hot tubs, hot water tanks and the plumbing and air-conditioning systems of large buildings. People become ill when they inhale contaminated mist or vapor. The disease cannot be transmitted from person-to-person. Between 8,000 and 18,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year with Legionnaires’ disease, according to the CDC.
