Legionnaires' Disease

Named after outbreak at an American Legion conference in Philadelphia in 1976 Caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches and stomach upset Mostly affects middle-aged and older people Contracted by breathing water droplets infected with the bacteria

In a statement, the owners said they believed the outbreak came from a single showerhead in the hotel's leisure suite.

The entire water system is being chlorinated and the owners hope to reopen by the weekend.

South and West Devon Health Authority is now trying to trace every guest who was at the hotel at the beginning of October.

The health authority has stressed that neither disease can be passed from one person to another.

Dr Sarah Harrison, the authority's communicable disease consultant, said the source of the outbreak was being investigated.

She said: "The bacteria that cause both diseases can be found in water systems.

"The owners of the hotel closed its leisure facilities as soon as they were aware of the problem."

A spokesman for the hotel said they were "devastated" that a small number of guests had been taken ill after staying there.

Severe symptoms

In a statement they said: "We have been advised that the disease may have been lying dormant for some time prior to our acquisition of the hotel some four months ago."

Legionnaires' disease has severe symptoms, including pneumonia.

Pontiac fever is a milder illness.

The Legionella pneumophila bacteria can only infect humans when water is turned to mist.

In 1999 in England and Wales, 201 cases of Legionnaires' disease were reported, of which 30 proved fatal.