Six ill after spa visit
Six people have been taken ill with Pontiac Fever after having bathed in the same spa in the Kronoberg region of Sweden.
Pontiac Fever is caused by the same bacteria as Legionnaires Disease but has milder symptoms.
The jacuzzi where the disease was spread is maintained at 38-39 degrees centigrade, a perfect temperature for the bacteria which cause the illness.
The owner of the spa is said to be inconsolable and has contacted all of those who have been infected, reported Swedish Radio Kronoberg.
Doctor if infectious diseases Arne Runehagen believes that Pontiac Fever will become increasingly common as more people invest in home spas and outside pools. But he did not want to warn people against using jacuzzis.
"The people who run these places should have their own control programme and then there won't be any danger," he sold SR.
According to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Pontiac Fever is not serious and clears up without treatment within a few days. The symptoms are flu-like, with fever and aching muscles.
So far only a couple of other outbreaks of the disease have been reported in Sweden. In those cases the source was also a jacuzzi.
TT/The Local
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Pontiac Fever is caused by the same bacteria as Legionnaires Disease but has milder symptoms.
The jacuzzi where the disease was spread is maintained at 38-39 degrees centigrade, a perfect temperature for the bacteria which cause the illness.
The owner of the spa is said to be inconsolable and has contacted all of those who have been infected, reported Swedish Radio Kronoberg.
Doctor if infectious diseases Arne Runehagen believes that Pontiac Fever will become increasingly common as more people invest in home spas and outside pools. But he did not want to warn people against using jacuzzis.
"The people who run these places should have their own control programme and then there won't be any danger," he sold SR.
According to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Pontiac Fever is not serious and clears up without treatment within a few days. The symptoms are flu-like, with fever and aching muscles.
So far only a couple of other outbreaks of the disease have been reported in Sweden. In those cases the source was also a jacuzzi.
TT/The Local
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