ANAHEIM - Orange County health experts are investigating 12 cases of Legionnaires’ disease among people who live in or visited the Anaheim area in September. Eight of the cases involve people visiting Disneyland and one person worked at the park.

One person, who had not visited Disneyland, has died, officials said.

A Disneyland official said the resort voluntarily shut down two cooling towers in a backstage area of the theme park after it found the towers had elevated levels of a bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.

Jessica Good, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said in an email the agency found 12 people, ages 52 to 94, were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, a type of airborne disease that causes a severe form of pneumonia to most people 50 years or older or with a weak immune system.

One of those diagnosed was a cast member but where they worked at the park was not disclosed.

Of the 12, 10 have been hospitalized, and one person died. The person who died was described as having additional health problems and did not visit the theme park, Good said.

The health care agency is investigating all the cases, but has not yet identified a common exposure source for all of them, she told the Orange County Register.

An outbreak of measles in late 2014 was also linked to Disneyland. It began when 40 people became exposed to measles while visiting Disney theme parks in Southern California. The illness spread to the community.

Story Date: November 15, 2017