Reported Legionnaires Disease

[donna]

i have just heard some 'gossip' that there has been an outbreak of legionnaires (pardon the spelling) in a large hotel in phuket. i will not name the hotel.

can anyone confirm this? i will delete this topic if it is pure speculation.

[londonthai]

it's a synonym for a syphilis - as a lot of soldiers use to be affected by that disease and it use to be incurable.

you mean all working girls/boys are affected in that particular hotel? don't they use condoms and can't they buy some medicines?

[fxm88]

it's a synonym for a syphilis - as a lot of soldiers use to be affected by that disease and it use to be incurable.

Wow, I never knew that. Everyday I learn something new on this board.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/legion.htm

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdsyph.htm

[donna]

its actually a horrid disease that lives in air conditioning towers and is carried by infected droplets of water! syphilis?

very accurate reports say that one hotel has had 5 confirmed cases and 100 rooms have checked out.

anyone else have further information?

[Filer]

When this occurs it is generally in buildings with old or improperly maintained air-conditioning systems. There is a whole body of knowledge now which building managers follow in order to avoid running in to these problems. There was a classic case sometime in the last 2 years in the UK where a local authority failed to maintain an AC system properly and the public OUTSIDE became infected, through infected droplets falling onto them as they passed under the system's outside vents. We also had some occurence of this in old, centrally air-conditioned housing in the Middle East where I worked for a while.

I also recall, maybe 10 years or so ago, of a major well-known hotel in Bangkok being reported as having had problems of this type, but I never discovered the name of the hotel.

[donna]

i suspect that the authorities may be keeping mum on this if it is true. quite understandable.

[sbk]

Not sure where the idea came that it is a synonym for syphilis.

From the CDC website:

Legionnaires’ disease (LEE-juh-nares) is caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella. The bacteria got its name in 1976, when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion suffered from an outbreak of this disease, a type of pneumonia (lung infection). Although this type of bacteria was around before1976, more illness from Legionnaires’ disease is being detected now. This is because we are now looking for this disease whenever a patient has pneumonia.

Each year, between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease in the U.S. However, many infections are not diagnosed or reported, so this number may be higher. More illness is usually found in the summer and early fall, but it can happen any time of year.

Also from the CDC:

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It has often been called "the great imitator" because so many of the signs and symptoms of syphilis are similar to those of other diseases.

[sbk]

There's another reason to stay in small places without a/c.

[Filer]

I believe that the risk is essentially with larger scale systems which involve a lot of ducting/trunking to direct the air flow to outlets in different parts of the building or room (central AC systems). Mould and dust can build up inside the damp air passages if cleaning and maintenance are poor, or if the inside of the ducting is rough - for example rough fibreglass - and this mould provides an excellent environment for the bacteria to breed. For this reason I don't think that there's considered to be a risk with self-contained window-type AC units which aren't connected to ducting.

[Old Croc]

As I will be staying in a hotel in Patong in a few days Donna, I wouldn't mind knowing which hotel it is.

[jmo]

As I will be staying in a hotel in Patong in a few days Donna, I wouldn't mind knowing which hotel it is.

Grand Tropicana.

[DragonQuest]

sounds like a military Disease

[leisurely]

I think the reason for the name is that it was first discovered when a group of legionaires were having a conference and they were struck down by a mystery disease.

[LaoPo]

"Legionella may hinder trips to Phuket"

Donna, you're probably talking about a very dangerous bacteria, which can cause:

Legionella disease....but also called 'legionnaires disease'

There's also already a report about it (in Phuket) at the Grand Tropicana Hotel where a lot of Finnish people stay/staid:

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Legionell...+/1135224258866

and:

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Nordic+to...d/1135224234107

It is however not confirmed if the patients contracted the illness from the Legionella Bacteria.

LaoPo

Edited January 13, 2007 by LaoPo

[Pink Mist]

from memory it's the older style water towers with the wooden fins, you can treat the water and its part of maintenance if done properly

[george]

BREAKING NEWS:

Tourists acquire Legionnaires' disease in Thailand

Legionella may hinder trips to Phuket

Full story:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=101178

[splorff]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=101178