Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak: Memphis Motel Tied To 6,000 Cases

In the midst of Legionnaires' Disease outbreak, investigation links a Memphis motel to 6,000 confirmed cases. On September 22, the Shelby County Health Department closed the La Quinta Inn located at 2979 Millbranch Road.

According to Wreg, there were 6,000 reservations in the motel between July 1 and September 22, as reported by the health department. In addition to this, Helen Morrow said they are currently notifying patrons through snail mail, telephone call, and email. These people, according to Morrow, are from all over the country.

Moreover, she also advised that people who stayed in the motel and became ill should visit their doctors and undergo diagnosis. Likewise, she encouraged people with symptoms to contact the Shelby County Health Department. The bacteria that causes the disease are usually from air-condition units, fountains, and hot tubs. The common symptoms are shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches, cough, and fever. Experts use antibiotics to treat the disease.

Meanwhile, Legionnaires' Disease outbreak has already made headlines in the U.S. early this year when Jim Henry, Genesee County Health director, told CNN that the 24 cases of death in Michigan last 2014 could have been prevented. But the problem was that the state could not help the health department find the source. Summer 2014 was among the worst outbreaks of the disease in the entire U.S. history. 87 people got the disease and nine of them died.

Legionnaires' Disease got its name from the outbreak in which experts identified it for the first time. Mayo Clinic defines it as a severe form of pneumonia. A bacterium named legionella causes the illness when inhaled. Susceptible to Legionnaires' Disease are smokers, people with weak immune systems, and older adults. The illness is deadly; hence people experiencing the aforementioned symptoms indeed have to go ti their physicians and undergo necessary tests.