Legionella bacteria found in Tel Aviv's Hilton Hotel

The bacteria is the source of the infectious and sometimes fatal Legionnaires disease

Following three patients being diagnosed with Legionnaires disease, inspectors have discovered the potentially fatal Legionella bacteria in the water system of the four-star hotel.

All three patients had used the showers and bathrooms located on the lower floors of the Hilton reported the Israeli daily Haaretz, and the Health Ministry has ordered the hotel urgently address the issue.

The ministry also emphasized that the water system used in lower floors are separate from that of the hotel rooms.

Those at risk of getting the disease are the elderly, people with defective or weak immune systems and people suffering from chronic lung diseases.

The disease is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person but can multiply in water and air conditioning systems.

It is usually caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water.

Legionnaires diseases is diagnosed by high fever, chills, coughing, headaches, muscle aches and pain, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting. The disease can also develop into pneumonia, which if left untreated, can be fatal.

Large buildings such as hotels, hospitals, museums and office blocks are more vulnerable to legionella contamination because they have larger, more complex water supply systems in which the bacteria can quickly spread..