Question of the Day - 11 August 2018

Last things first, we’ve heard nothing but good news about the Aquarius, especially after it received a makeover during the days when Carl Icahn owned it. (It's now the property of Golden Entertainment, a company with the Midas touch.) It gets 3.5 stars at TripAdvisor.com, making it the second-highest-rated hotel in Laughlin. The number-one property was — wouldn’t you know it? — Harrah’s Laughlin. But if you’re set on staying in Laughlin in the next few months, we’d suggest you book at the Aquarius or one of the other highly ranked hotels, rather than take a chance on Harrah’s at this time.

Legionnaires Disease got its name from its initial victims, members of an American Legion convention staying at a hotel in Philadelphia in 1976. A casino-hotel is the perfect breeding ground for Legionnaires disease.

“Legionnaires’ disease is contracted by inhaling aerosol droplets of water contaminated with the bacteria. Sources of the aerosol can include showers, hot tubs, faucets, cooling towers, misters, and decorative fountains,” according to the Southern Nevada Health District. The easiest way to exacerbate the infection is to inhale cigarette smoke. When was the last time you were in a smoke-free Nevada casino? 

According to the Mayo Clinic, the disease sets in with headaches, muscle pain, chills, and high fever. These are followed by coughing, shortness of breath, chest pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion. The primary ground for infection are the lungs, but one’s heart can also be infected. The incubation period can be as long as two weeks.

Says the Clinic, “Outdoors, legionella bacteria survive in soil and water, but rarely cause infections. Indoors, though, legionella bacteria can multiply in all kinds of water systems — hot tubs, air conditioners and mist sprayers in grocery store produce departments … most outbreaks have occurred in large buildings, perhaps because complex systems allow the bacteria to grow and spread more easily.” 

Stephanie Bethel, public information officer for the Southern Nevada Health District, elaborates. “Legionella bacteria exist in fresh water and are commonly found throughout the environment. Warm water is required for the growth of Legionella. Most people who are exposed to Legionella do not get sick, but some people are more at risk than others. There are factors that can put people at an increased risk of getting sick: being 50 years or older; being a current or former smoker; having a chronic lung disease (like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema); having a weakened immune systems or taking drugs that weaken the immune system (like after a transplant operation or chemotherapy); having cancer; or having underlying illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, or liver failure. Guests who have questions about their risk factors should contact their health care provider.”

According to a press release, “The hotel is assisting in the investigation, and the Health District is working with the property to notify current and past guests dating back to Oct. 15, 2017.” 

The disinfection of Harrah’s Laughlin is still in progress, according to Bethel. The Southern Nevada Health District is “investigating two cases of Legionnaires’ disease in individuals who stayed at the property separately in November 2017 and March 2018.”

There’s no timeline on the remediation: Harrah’s “will test its entire water system and disinfect and remediate if necessary. Harrah’s is working with the Health District to identify locations where Legionella bacteria are located and the hotel is doing remediation in the affected water system. Harrah’s will continue to do testing to ensure that Legionella bacteria are removed from the water system. If needed, the hotel will continue to remediate. After Legionella are no longer found, the hotel will continue to do follow-up testing on a schedule to ensure that the remediation worked.

“The Health District will continue to work with the facility and conduct follow-up sampling to ensure its remediation efforts are effective, a process that can take as long as a year."

The Laughlin case is mild compared to that at the Rio, in which seven people were definitely affected and 29 more were suspected of infection. In that instance, the hotel-casino’s hot-water system had to be cleaned and inspected to eradicate the virus. Fifty-six other Rio guests reported Pontiac fever, a minor-league version of Legionnaire’s disease. The Rio cleanup took, as you accurately noted, months.

Bethel writes that Caesars Entertainment “conducted emergency disinfection of its water systems in June 2017 and August 2017 and continued to monitor is systems throughout the summer. Following the emergency remediation, results indicated there were lower levels of Legionella in the water system and it was not found consistently. Levels declined throughout the summer and did not pose an additional risk to guests. Samples of the water system taken on September 21 indicated Legionella bacteria were not present.” 

However, there is no definitive end to that process. “In a situation like this, part of the process of these investigations on an environmental aspect is continued testing and monitoring,” said Southern Nevada Health District Senior Environmental Health Specialist Robert Cole.