For many people, a trip to Disneyland is a chance to create memories and enjoy the day with family and friends. The last thing anyone thinks about when visiting a theme park is contracting a debilitating illness. Unfortunately for several people who visited Disneyland in Anaheim, that’s exactly what happened to them. According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, the theme park had to recently shut down “two bacteria-contaminated cooling towers after health officials discovered several cases of Legionnaires’ disease in people who had visited” the park in recent months.
For many people, a trip to Disneyland is a chance to create memories and enjoy the day with family and friends. The last thing anyone thinks about when visiting a theme park is contracting a debilitating illness. Unfortunately for several people who visited Disneyland in Anaheim, that’s exactly what happened to them. According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, the theme park had to recently shut down “two bacteria-contaminated cooling towers after health officials discovered several cases of Legionnaires’ disease in people who had visited” the park in recent months.
According to the report from the Orange County Health Care Agency, a total of “twelve cases of the bacteria-caused illness were discovered about three weeks ago among people who had spent time in Anaheim and included nine people who had visited Disneyland in September before developing the illness.” Those affected varied in age, from 52 to 94.
Of the twelve affected, “ten were hospitalized while one person, who had additional health issues, died.” However, it should be noted that the one who died, along with two others infected, did not visit the park. Instead, they lived or worked in Anaheim. So if people who didn’t even visit the park got infected, how close were the cooling towers to people? Well, according to a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, “the towers are in a backstage area near the New Orleans Square Train Station, each more than 100 feet from areas accessible to guests.”
In a statement regarding the incident, Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said:
“On Oct. 27, we learned from the Orange County Health Care Agency of increased Legionnaires’ disease cases in Anaheim. We conducted a review and learned that two cooling towers had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria. These towers were treated with chemicals that destroy the bacteria and are currently shut down.”
So how did officials discover that there were elevated levels of Legionella bacteria in the cooling towers to begin with? Well, earlier this month “Disney reported that routine testing had detected elevated levels of Legionella in two cooling towers a month earlier, and the towers had been disinfected.” As an added safeguard, “Disney took the towers out of service on Nov. 1, performed more testing and disinfection, and brought them back into service on Nov. 5.”
Then, a few days later the park “took the towers out of service again…in advance of an order the health agency issued requiring they remain down until test results verify they are free from Legionella contamination.”
So how serious is Legionnaires disease? What is it? For those who don’t know, it’s “a severe lung infection caused by exposure to contaminated water or mist.” According to the CDC, the disease itself is caused by “Legionella bacteria that grow in water and can spread when small droplets get into the air and people breathe them in.” Typically, outbreaks are “traced to hot tubs, decorative fountains, cooling towers and large air-conditioning systems that emit water vapor into the air, and is not spread person to person.”
Individuals infected with the disease can be treated with “antibiotics and hospital care.” Unfortunately, an estimated one in 10 cases ends up being fatal. Those most at risk of being infected during an outbreak are the elderly and those with “weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases.”
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Disneyland shuts down 2 cooling towers after Legionnaires’ disease sickens park visitors
Disneyland shuts down cooling towers over Legionnaires’ cases
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