Health officials are looking for people who may have been at the Zen Day Spa in Richmond over the past two weeks, which was visited by three people -- including two who died last week -- who recently contracted Legionnaires' disease.
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Chairperson John Gioia, who represents Richmond on the board, said Monday that it's critical for anyone who visited the spa come forward immediately.
Gioia is also calling on Contra Costa Health to investigate and identify unpermitted spas throughout the county. He said Zen Day Spa didn't have the required county environmental health permit from the health department and he's waiting to find out if it had a required use permit from the City of Richmond.
"Right now, the emphasis is tracking down people who were there the past two weeks," Gioia said. "It's a bit like contact tracing."
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The spa was closed Friday after two people died on Thursday and Friday. Health officials said both people had visited the spa, at 12230 San Pablo Ave., just days before getting sick.
NBC Bay Area spoke with the widow of one of the victims.
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She didn’t want to be identified but said she’s heartbroken and angry. She said she visited the spa with her husband and about a week later, he died in her arms.
She says it's a miracle that she didn’t get sick—but more than anything she believes she survived for their kids.
The victim’s widow said her husband was at the spa on July 19 and he was later admitted into a hospital where he spent six days before passing on Tuesday.
“We want to be proactive and identify any other facilities that are operating and shut them down until they have a legal permit that shows they’re operating in a healthy way,” said Gioia.
A third person, who used the jacuzzi at the spa in June, has recovered from the disease.
But a former CDC epidemic intelligence officer says there may be more cases not being reported considering, in healthy people, the disease can look like a common cold. But it can be deadly if you have immunity or respiratory issues.
“Precious, minutes, time, hours can go by before the appropriate diagnostics and therapies are applied,” said Dr. Sarah Park, Karius Medical director.
That’s why county health officials say they’re using their pandemic contact tracing skills to find anyone else who visited the spa in the past two weeks.
Gioia said officials are also looking at the building's ventilation system and whether the bacteria -- which is usually transmitted by air -- could have spread into two adjacent businesses.
Health officials are still awaiting lab test results to confirm whether the spa was indeed the source of transmission.
The bacteria is found natural freshwater sources such as lakes and streams and can cause a severe form of pneumonia when people breathe in contaminated water droplets, such as mist in a hot tub or via the use of hoses, according to CCH.
Legionnaires' disease doesn't typically spread from person to person and is treatable with antibiotics. Seniors, smokers, chronic lung disease patients and other immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk of Legionnaires' disease.
Symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, chills and cough.
Anyone who visited the Zen Day Spa over the past two weeks should contact the Contra Costa Health's Communicable Disease Division at (925) 313-6740.
