Playboy Mansion Illness: Hot Tub Bacteria To Blame

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County health officials say the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in a hot tub at the Playboy Mansion where scores of people became ill after attending a fundraiser in February.

The Los Angeles Times says health officials presented their findings Friday at an annual conference at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

The legionella bacteria also causes a milder illness called Pontiac fever. Symptoms include fever and headache.

Many people who attended a fundraiser party at the Playboy Mansion came down with a respiratory illness after the DomainFest conference in February.

Officials contacted 439 people and found that 123 had fevers and at least one other symptom with 69 falling ill on the same day. Epidemiologists used social media to contact the conference attendees.

Comments

[JGurung]

10:50 AM on 04/18/2011

I am hoping to see this in a new episode of House, complete with the playboy mansion.

[ss1964]

01:04 PM on 04/18/2011

hahaha, fanned and faved!

[ss1964]

08:35 AM on 04/18/2011

Something that rarely happens at the mansion when two people hookup for the first time.

"Sorry, it's not going to happen tonight. I have a headache."

"So do I."

[Mondayboy]

07:53 AM on 04/18/2011

And all this time I thought it was the abundance of dog poo in the mansion

[kat momma]

05:30 AM on 04/18/2011

What was the pool boy doing?

[ss1964]

01:05 PM on 04/18/2011

Did you mean "Who"?

[EcologyDreams]

01:51 AM on 04/18/2011

Tainted love.

[glomtt]

01:00 AM on 04/18/2011

EEEEWWW, Just EEEEWWWW!!!

[7777guy]

12:44 AM on 04/18/2011

To quote David Letterman, "I wouldn't go swimming in that pool." He was referring to the Playboy mansion grotto pool.

[kanamartin]

12:18 AM on 04/18/2011

I'm surprised gonnorea, hepatitis, and HIV, wasn't floating in that radioactive slime they call a hot tube! I wonder how often they clean it, if not at all. Can you imagine the hundreds of types of semen caked on the bottom. EWWW sick, I would have never climbed into that mess!

[ss1964]

08:37 AM on 04/18/2011

hahaha, you said "hot tube" - sounds even more gross than a hot tub!

[gravityhunter]

11:37 PM on 04/17/2011

.....come to think of it, I doubt ANY guests will ever go in that thing from here on......

[gravityhunter]

11:35 PM on 04/17/2011

Yeah' I don't know about going in that thing.......

[AnnT]

11:20 PM on 04/17/2011

Hot tub = petri dish. :-)

[ScapeGoat]

09:54 PM on 04/17/2011

It is a protein soup that allows bacteria to grow, Nuke it

[NightEditor]

09:41 PM on 04/17/2011

I'm not shocked, but the hot tub should have been.

[hairydodger]

09:25 PM on 04/17/2011

So that's where I got Pontiac fever. I got a headache, fever and low gas mileage.

[Novelist56]

08:02 PM on 04/17/2011

Lets go snorkling!

[vietveter]

09:15 PM on 04/17/2011

You would need to be an amoeba to GET IN that pool.

There isn’t enough chlorine in California to clean it.