Public healthSocial media helps CDC track Playboy Mansion disease outbreak
Thanks to social media outlets, medical researchers are one step closer to discovering why more than 120 people were infected with a mysterious illness following a 3 February party at the Playboy Mansion; investigators suspect that the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease may have been the source of the outbreak after its presence was discovered in the grotto of the Playboy Mansion; officials used online tools like Twitter, Facebook, and online polling to help track the disease outbreak; these tools were particularly helpful because they allowed officials to quickly identify the outbreak, communicate quickly with conference goers who came from thirty countries, and to issue instructions for the infected
CDC used social media to track Playboy mansion outbreak // Source: nonprofitquarterly.org
Thanks to social media outlets, medical researchers are one step closer to discovering why more than 120 people were infected with a mysterious illness following a 3 February party at the Playboy Mansion.
Last week, researchers revealed that they had discovered the presence of legionella pneumophila, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease, in the grotto of the Playboy Mansion. Investigators suspect that this bacteria may the source of the puzzling outbreak, but are still uncertain. H1N1 flu is another suspected cause.
After sending an online poll to 715 attendees of the 3 February party, which was a fundraiser for DomainFest, investigators found that 123 people became ill with a fever and at least one other symptom like headaches, coughing, shortness of breath, or aches.
Researchers were also able to determine from the poll that sixty-nine people got sick on the same day, 5 February, suggesting that the outbreak was caused by a single source.
Dr. Reed said public health officials used online tools like Twitter, Facebook, and online polling to help track the disease outbreak.
The health incident first came to the attention of Los Angeles health officials after conference attendees noticed that large numbers of their fellow conference mates had become quite ill, prompting many to post questions online.
For instance on 7 February, one conference goer asked on his Facebook page, “Domainerflu count: Who else caught the disease at DFG?” More than three dozen people responded to the question.
In response to a journalist’s inquiry, Los Angeles health officials took notice and began investigating the incident.
Dr. Reed said that social media outlets were particularly helpful because they allowed officials to quickly identify the outbreak, communicate quickly with conference goers who came from thirty countries, and to issue instructions for the infected to get tested.
While a useful tool, Reed did say that using social media required researchers to spend valuable time responding to rumors and that it “amplified inaccurate media stories.”
Legionnaires’ disease was first discovered in 1976 after large numbers of American Legion members attending a convention in Philadelphia were infected with the bacteria and developed pneumonia.
According to the CDC, the disease is quite serious and as many as 30 percent of the people who contract it die. It can be treated with antibiotics, and most healthy people recover from the infection.
On average between 8,000 to 18,000 people a year are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease each year in the United States.
