Bay Area Officials Conduct Testing at Day Spa Following Two Fatal Cases of Legionnaires’ Disease

An investigation has been launched after two people in the Bay Area died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease, Contra Costa Health officials announced Saturday.

Contra Costa Health, the county’s health department, learned of the two deaths on Thursday and Friday. When they probed into the decedents’ last known locations, they learned both went to Zen Day Spa in Richmond, the department said in a press release.

“CCH’s Environmental Health inspectors conducted an assessment of the facility and found no existing records indicating the business has ever been issued a permit for a spa or pool. CCH closed the spa on Friday,” the statement said.

Samples taken of the spa’s water have been sent to a lab to test for legionella bacteria. Health officials are currently waiting on the results of those tests.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe and sometimes deadly form of pneumonia that is usually transmitted via water sources, like air conditioning systems or hot tubs. Symptoms can manifest between two and 14 days after being exposed and include headache, fever and chest pain. It gets its name from a 1976 Philadelphia convention of the American Legion. In the days that followed, nearly 200 people became sick and 29 died. After a massive investigation by the CDC, it was determined that the air conditioning system at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, which hosted the convention, had spread the bacteria through the air.

Contra Costa Health is asking anyone who recently visited Zen Day Spa to test for Legionnaires’ disease with their health care provider. A third person who health officials believe contracted the bacteria in the spa’s jacuzzi has recovered.

“We are looking at secure things like credit card receipts and appointment books as a way to try and get in touch with folks who might have been here,” CCH spokesperson Kim McCarl said Saturday.