(CNN)-Two recent guests at a Las Vegas resort have contracted Legionnaires’ disease, officials said Friday.
The guests who contracted the lung infection stayed separately in March and April at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the Southern Nevada Health District said.
Legionella, the bacteria that causes the disease, was found throughout the hotel’s water system during a test, the health district said. The hotel has taken steps including disinfecting the system with chlorine, and remediation efforts continue, the district said.
Out of caution, guests are being relocated from rooms where the fixes are happening, the Rio’s parent company, Caesars Entertainment, said.
Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia, develops when people breathe small droplets of water infected with legionella bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most healthy people who are exposed to legionella don’t get sick, the CDC says. But those who do usually develop fever, cough, chills or muscle aches. Symptoms usually begin within two to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria.
“Guests who stayed at the Rio more than two weeks ago and have not developed symptoms are not at risk for disease,” the health district said.
It’s not clear how the health district linked the recent cases to the Rio.
Most patients recover after treatment with antibiotics. About 10% die because of complications from their illness, the CDC says.
