One dead, 14 unwell in Legionnaire’s outbreak

26 August 2005

ZARAGOZA — One man has died and 14 people have been struck down in an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in Zaragoza.

The man was aged 44 and died in hospital, authorities said.

Health chiefs in the eastern city said all efforts were being made to contain the outbreak.

Six patients have been taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona a total of 158 people who ate at a hotel have been struck down with a bacterial infection.

Initially, it was thought to be an outbreak of salmonella, but now health authorities say this appears unlikely.

The outbreak started on Friday at a hotel in Santa Susanna.

They are suffering from nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and high fever.

Legionnaire’s disease is a form of pneumonia transported by bacteria which can spread through ventilation systems and air conditioning.

It can cause high fever, coughing and congestion and can prove fatal to older people and babies.

Luis Gómez López, head of public health in the region of Aragon, said the outbreak was being investigated.

The first outbreak in Spain happened in 1980 in a hotel in Benidorm.

Last year, another outbreak also in Zaragoza, cost the life of seven people when the disease spread through a hospital.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news