300 hotel guests relocated after bacteria kills 1

300 hotel guests relocated after bacteria kills 1

MIAMI – About 300 guests have been relocated from a luxury Miami hotel after one guest died and at least two others became sick from a bacteria in the water.

Health officials say the guests at the EPIC Hotel were sent to nearby hotels Sunday to prevent further contact with Legionnaire's disease, according to The Miami Herald. People can become infected by breathing in mist or vapor contaminated with the bacteria. It cannot spread from person to person, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An investigation revealed that the hotel had installed a water filter powerful enough to remove chlorine from its city-supplied water, which encouraged bacterial growth, The Herald reported.

In an unrelated case, last week a man in Gainesville died after contracting the disease from the water supply at Shands Cancer Hospital.