Vegas Luxor guest dies of Legionnaires

Published: Jan. 31, 2012 at 4:35 PM

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A guest who stayed at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in December and contracted Legionnaires' disease has died, Nevada health officials said.

Brian Labus, a senior epidemiologist at the Southern Nevada Health District, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not released the patient's name or when he or she died, the Las Vegas Sun reported Tuesday.

Health officials found Luxor water samples tested positive for Legionlla bacteria.

Gordon Absher, vice president of public affairs for MGM Resorts International, said super-heating and super-chlorinating water was used to kill the bacteria in the area where the deceased guest stayed, within a day the test results were confirmed, Absher said.

Within 10 days the hotel will undertake a voluntary remediation for the rest of the hotel, Absher said.

"We take this very seriously," Absher told the Sun said. "Health of our guests and our employees is of paramount importance to MGM Resorts."

The Luxor also developed a monitoring plan to prevent this from occurring, Labus said.

Last spring, two guests staying at the Luxor also became ill with Legionnaires' disease, but both recovered.

At the time, the health district collected bulk water samples for an environmental assessment, but no Legionella bacteria were detected, officials said.

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Las Vegas' Luxor guests had Legionnaires': officials

Home : Health : Las Vegas' Luxor guests had Legionnaires': officials

SLIDES.showHideViewT();The Associated Press

Date: Tuesday Jan. 31, 2012 9:25 AM ET

LAS VEGAS — Health officials in Las Vegas said Monday that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia.

The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.

The Las Vegas Strip resort's water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.

Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.

MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.

"We are confident in the integrity of our systems and the safety protocols we follow at all our hotels. Guest and employee safety is always a top priority at our company," Absher said. "Even before last summer, MGM Resorts led the industry with aggressive and stringent programs to control Legionella issues common to all large buildings."

Absher said the company's resorts regularly test for Legionella and treat water systems preventatively, before bacteria are detected.

The new cases come as the company is already facing a civil lawsuit from guests who said they were infected with Legionella at the Aria Resort & Casino, part of the CityCenter complex that is half-owned by MGM Resorts.

MGM Resorts notified guests that they might have been exposed to the bacteria between June 21 and July 4 after the district reported six cases of Legionnaires' disease in July. The district said those guests recovered after treatment.

Eight guests sued in August, seeking $337.5 million in damages from the resort and its builders. An MGM Resorts spokesman at the time denied negligence, saying hotel officials carefully communicated with its guests and reimbursed them fairly for legitimate medical expenses. The case is still pending in federal court in Las Vegas.

Most people who are exposed to the bacteria don't get sick, according to the CDC. Smokers, people over age 50 and those who have chronic lung disease or weak immune systems are most susceptible, the CDC said.

The bacteria isn't spread between people. It grows most often in warm water, infecting people when they breathe in mist or vapor that has been contaminated.

The disease takes its name from an outbreak at the Pennsylvania American Legion convention held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia in 1976.

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