Legionnaires' Disease Sickens 6 Aria Vegas Hotel Guests

Six cases of Legionnaires' Disease have been reported among guests of the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, reports the Associated Press.

Tests of the water in several hotel guest rooms between June 21 and July 4 revealed elevated levels of the bacteria Legionella.

A letter since sent by the Aria hotel to its guests indicated that additional water treatment measures have been put in place.

"We will continue to monitor our water quality on an ongoing basis to ensure the safety of the water system and our guests," said Paul Berry, vice president of hotel operations, according to the Las Vegas Sun. He went on to say that Legionella bacteria is a concern for all large buildings.

According to the paper, no bacteria was detected in the most recent round of testing, but there was no indication of when those tests were conducted.

All six people infected have recovered.

Legionnaires' Disease, caused by Legionella, is a type of pneumonia. It is so named because of an outbreak of the sickness that occurred at a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with a Legionnaires' infection annually, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

It seems that this is not Aria's first run in with Legionella. Lawrence Sands, Southern Nevada's chief health officer, gave indication that Aria was investigated in the spring of 2010 after reports of the illness surfaced, reports the Sun. No increased risk was found at that time, but the bug was found in the hotel's hot water system more recently.