The Worcester County Health Department has confirmed that two people who recently stayed at Ocean City, MD’s Golden Sands Club Condominium this June have contracted Legionnaires’ disease. This cluster has appeared less than a year after two guests of the luxury resort caught the potentially fatal illness in 2015. The 360-unit complex is located on 10900 Coastal Highway.
“It is clear that these two clusters of illnesses are related. The Golden Sand has had continuing water system maintenance issues. The Condominium has not yet been able to completely eradicate the Legionella bacteria from its water system. These most recent illnesses were especially preventable. Those sickened deserve compensation.”
As Worcester County health officer Debbie Goeller told news sources,
“We have had reports of two individuals who were diagnosed with Legionella in June … Those individuals had recently stayed at the Golden Sands in Ocean City and both cases are being looked into by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Worcester County Health Department.” (1)
Two-Year Timeline of Legionnaires’ Disease at the Golden Sands
The Golden Sands made the news last year after two guests initially fell ill with Legionnaires’ disease, a type of severe pneumonia contracted when people inhale or aspirate water vapor contaminated with Legionella pneumonia bacteria. Two other visitors there were also subsequently found to have caught Legionnaires’ Disease during their vacation stay. Here’s the timeline of events:
- October 2015: Two guests at the Golden Sands were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease.
- November 2015: Water samples taken from the hotel tested positive for Legionella.
- April 2016: The Golden Sands installed a water disinfection system in an attempt to control the proliferation of the Legionella bacteria.
- June 2016: Two new cases of Legionnaires’ disease were contracted at the hotel.
According to OC Today, the Golden Sands issued a letter to guests explaining that “since last November four people who vacationed at the facility were subsequently diagnosed with the disease … ‘Although Golden Sands is actively treating the water system, recent water samples continue to show the presence of Legionella in our potable water systems,’ the letter said.” (1)
Travel-Associated Legionnaires’ Disease in Ocean City, MD
Ocean City, MD’s tourism industry has witnessed numerous clusters of Legionnaires’ disease – and subsequent multimillion-dollar lawsuits – over the years. In the summer of 2014, two people contracted the disease at the Econo Lodge on 145th Street. In 2012, two people who stayed at the Sea Watch Condominiums were diagnosed with LD.
Another serious outbreak happened in the summer of 2011, when six guests of the Plim Plaza Hotel on the Boardwalk contracted legionellosis. One victim, an elderly resident of Pennsylvania, later died.
As early as 2004, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) investigated seven confirmed and one possible case of Legionnaires’ disease associated with an unnamed Ocean City hotel. A collaborative investigation between the CDC, Worcester County Health Department, and Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene pinpointed the hotel’s potable water system as the probable source of infection. The CDC report concluded that “The detection of this outbreak underscores the importance of enhanced, state-based surveillance for timely detection of travel-associated LD and implementation of control measures.” (2)
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