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According to the Los Angeles Department of Health, the mysterious illness that sickened at least 170 people who attended a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion on Feb. 3 is legionellosis. The Health Department has yet to confirm that the Playboy Mansion is the locus of the outbreak, however, as all the attendees who have fallen ill were also together at a conference in Santa Monica, Calif. Still, some guests of the event say they suspected that fumes from a smoke machine used at Hugh Hefner's famous pad made them ill.
With help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Surge Desk rounded up a few facts on this airborne bacterium.
1. Legionnaires' Disease or Pontiac Fever?
Legionellosis also refers to Pontiac fever or Legionnaires' disease. Both diseases are caused by the bacterium Legionella, which was named for an early outbreak after a meeting of the American Legion in 1976. The milder form, Pontiac fever, is believed to have sickened the Playboy mansion guests.
2. Symptoms
Milder cases of Pontiac fever include fever, headaches and muscle aches lasting between two and five days. Unlike Legionnaires' disease, the infection doesn't lead to pneumonia. In either case, symptoms occur anywhere between two and 14 days after exposure.
3. Transmission
The Legionella bacteria is found throughout the natural environment, particularly in warm water, and is transmitted through evaporated water droplets, which you will find in and around hot tubs, steam rooms and large air conditioning systems. Besides the smoke machine theory, Surge Desk is thinking the infamous Grotto may need a new air filtration system.
4. Treatment
With Pontiac fever no treatment is needed, and the infection will subside quickly. Those suffering from Legionnaires' disease, which is diagnosed by chest X-ray, will need a course of antibiotics.
5. Risk Factors
Aside from spending time with Hef, Legionella infection is most likely to affect people with compromised immune systems: smokers, the elderly and people who are weakened by diseases such as cancer or diabetes. Most people who are exposed to the bacterium never feel any symptoms, and it's only considered a health risk when it causes pneumonia, which can be fatal if untreated.
