Lab results pending in deadly Richmond spa investigation

RICHMOND, Calif. - Officials are awaiting lab results from the Richmond Zen Spa, now tied to two deaths from Legionnaire's disease last week. 

There are almost 2,900 day spas in California regulated by county and state health agencies. Others may be flying under regulatory radar.

The lab results will serve as scientific verification that the deaths are a result of recent visits to the Richmond in question. Scientific lab testing of spa water samples is a complex test that must backed up by a chain of evidence pointing directly to the spa. 

"Bacterium, typically is grown, That takes two or three days. It's grown on special media. So, you’ve got to send it to a lab that's really acquainted with how to do this," said infectious disease expert Dr. and Professor John Swartzberg.

When standing water contaminated with the bacteria then gets misted into the air, it enters the body through the lungs. Almost all the outbreaks we see, are related to the bacteria living in water and the water, therefore, is contaminated." Said Dr. Swartzberg.

The spa already faces on huge problem: legal permission to be a spa. "This facility did not have a health permit," said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia.  

Acute bilateral pneumonia (legionnairesÕ disease caused by Legionella pneumophila), seen on a frontal chest x-ray. (Photo by: BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"The purpose of getting a permit is so that the facility is inspected on a regular basis to make sure it's being operated in a safe and healthy manner," said Gioia.

For the spa's owners, there's a lot at stake in the laboratory’s findings. They range from violations of the county health code, to huge liability to the deceased's family; even potential criminal liability.

This spa may not be the only such unpermitted spa. "I have asked the Health Department to investigate and identify any potential unpermitted spas in the county," said Gioia.

Any non-permitted spa is subject to immediate closure, fines and other penalties; a truism across the entire state.