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Health officials identified legionella bacteria in a whirlpool spa at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles during an investigation in February that began when people were sickened after attending a fundraiser.
A number of people came down with a respiratory illness after DomainFest's Feb. 1-3 conference, which culminated in a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. Officials investigated to see if legionellosis was at fault; the more severe version of that illness is known as Legionnaires' disease, while a milder version is called Pontiac fever.
Out of 439 people contacted by L.A. County public health officials, 123 fell sick with fever and at least one other symptom, such as headache, cough, shortness of breath, or aches. Sixty-nine people got sick on the same day, Feb. 5.
The investigation involved an unusual tactic: the use of social media. Health investigators used blogs, Twitter and Facebook and had an online survey sent to all 715 conference attendees, who had traveled from 30 countries, to determine the extent of the outbreak. Seventy-nine people said through social media that they were ill.
Although several attendees indicated that they were diagnosed with legionellosis, county health officials were unable to verify the diagnosis through laboratory analysis. Three attendees, however, did test positive for the H1N1 flu.
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A number of people came down with a respiratory illness after DomainFest's Feb. 1-3 conference, which culminated in a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. Officials investigated to see if legionellosis was at fault; the more severe version of that illness is known as Legionnaires' disease, while a milder version is called Pontiac fever.
Out of 439 people contacted by L.A. County public health officials, 123 fell sick with fever and at least one other symptom, such as headache, cough, shortness of breath, or aches. Sixty-nine people got sick on the same day, Feb. 5.
The investigation involved an unusual tactic: the use of social media. Health investigators used blogs, Twitter and Facebook and had an online survey sent to all 715 conference attendees, who had traveled from 30 countries, to determine the extent of the outbreak. Seventy-nine people said through social media that they were ill.
Although several attendees indicated that they were diagnosed with legionellosis, county health officials were unable to verify the diagnosis through laboratory analysis. Three attendees, however, did test positive for the H1N1 flu.
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