Legionnaire’s disease reported in 2 Kennewick gym members

Two members of a Kennewick gym were hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease, according to the Benton-Franklin Health District.

Membership at Gold’s Gym in Kennewick is the only thing health district officials have found so far that the two women have in common.

The investigation was in its early stages Wednesday and the disease has not been conclusively linked to the gym.

Both women, who are in their 70s and 80s, have been discharged from the hospital and are recovering. They were ill this month, with the second case reported to the health district on Tuesday afternoon.

Gold’s Gym “acted quickly and decisively to close down the pool and hot tub area in an abundance of caution,” said Rick Dawson, the health district’s senior manager of surveillance and investigation.

The women had been in that area of the gym.

Legionnaire’s disease is contracted by inhaling aerosol droplets of water contaminated with the bacteria Legionella.

The health district plans to collect samples from the gym, with laboratory results expected in a couple of weeks. The Washington State Department of Health will help with the investigation.

Gold’s Gym is working with the health district to ensure the pool and hot tub area share are sanitized before the area is reopened.

“We are cooperating fully with the health department in their investigation into two local cases of Legionnaire’s disease,” said Bryce Berry, Gold’s Gym franchisee owner, in a statement. “We apologize to our members for any inconvenience and hope for the speedy recovery of the two members who are ill.”

Hot tubs are a common source of infection because high water temperatures may make it difficult to maintain the disinfectant levels needed to kill germs like Legionella, according to the Centers for Disease Control. People don’t need to use a contaminated hot tub to become ill, but may become infected by breathing air near it.

Most people exposed to the bacteria will not get sick, according to the health district. However, some people do become seriously ill and the disease is sometimes fatal.

Legionnaire’s disease is a type of pneumonia, with symptoms typical of other types of pneumonia. They can include coughing, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches and headaches.

Symptoms may begin two to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria. It usually is not passed from person to person.

People who are at increased risk of getting sick include those 50 years or older, current or former smokers, people with weakened immune systems, those with chronic lung disease and those with underlying illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure or liver failure.

An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people in the United States are hospitalized annually with Legionnaire’s disease, according to the CDC. It is treated with antibiotics.

The Benton-Franklin Health District occasionally receives reports of single cases of Legionnaire’s disease, but reports are difficult to investigate unless there is more than one case, Dawson said.

In recent years there has been an outbreak in Wenatchee with several people falling ill. Officials determined they had walked by an outdoor cooling tower from a large air conditioning system.

Other sources of Legionnaire’s disease can be showers, faucets, misters and decorative fountains.

Gold’s Gym does not have the kind of air conditioning system sometimes linked to Legionnaire’s disease.

The bacteria was named after an outbreak of pneumonia at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.

This story was originally published July 19, 2017 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Legionnaire’s disease reported in 2 Kennewick gym members."