Legionnaires' Disease Breakout Looming Over Disneyland
ANAHEIM (CBSLA) — As Harbor Boulevard bustles with Disneyland visitors, darkness looms over the happiest place on earth.
Orange County health care officials say three more cases of Legionnaires' disease were just reported, bringing the total so far to 15. Two people have died.
"That's alarming certainly, you need to know where the source is," a Disneyland Jeff Brewer visitor said.
According to health officials 11 of the 15 visited Disneyland between September and November. The other four were in Anaheim around that same time.
Disneyland recently shut down two cooling towers where Legionella bacteria was found. And since then no new cases have been reported. But health officials say even though evidence leads to Disneyland, they can't definitively pinpoint the source. So they're now investigating other businesses along Harbor Boulevard including hotels and motels.
Brewer said he didn't know about the situation prior to taking his 8-year-old daughter to Disneyland.
"I don't know if it would have changed our decision to go or not but certainly something to think about," Brewer said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Legionnaires' causes a type of pneumonia and is typically contracted by breathing in air that contains bacteria, usually from contaminated water systems like air conditioners. It's not normally spread from person to person.
Most visitors say they're not too concerned.
"I'm a little worried but I'm going to go anyway," Rena Maza said.