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Riverside County health officials are looking into several cases of Legionnaires Disease in the Coachella Valley.
The cases have been reported in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and some surrounding communities, according to the Riverside University Health System-Public Health.
Twenty cases, including 14 hospitalizations, have been verified, and two deaths have been confirmed. Those cases were reported between last fall and early this year.
Public Health is working with the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Where the disease started, and how much it has spread, is not known.
“The risk to anyone who lives in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and surrounding areas is low,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, public health officer for Riverside County, in the statement. “The department recommends that individuals who live in the identified areas who become ill with pneumonia-like/respiratory symptoms, such as fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, and headache, visit their healthcare provider.”
Most healthy people exposed to Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, don’t develop that condition. A form of pneumonia, Legionnaire’s is not spread person-to-person and can be treated with antibiotics, according to the statement.
