Illness that hit 170 after Playboy Mansion visit still stumps officals...
LOS ANGELES — A mysterious illness sickened about 170 people attending a global Internet conference in Southern California, but it was unclear if a party at the Playboy Mansion played any role in spreading it,officials health said Monday.
The Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health said it learned Friday that people who attended the DOMAINfest Global conference in Santa Monica had come down with a suspected respiratory infection.
The agency contacted everyone associated with the conference, and so far about 170 people have reported fever, chills, coughs or other signs of illness.
The type of illness and source of exposure remained under investigation.
The Feb. 3 conference was attended by hundreds of Internet professionals from 30 countries. The weeklong conference was held at a hotel in Santa Monica but nighttime events included a Polynesian-themed pool and garden party, a networking event at the famed Los Angeles Skybar, and a charity fundraiser at Hefner's 21,987-square-foot Gothic-Tudor-style mansion in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles.
The Playboy Mansion was cooperating fully with the health investigation, said an e-mail from Teri Thomerson, spokeswoman for Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Health officials said it appeared the illness was confined to the conference-goers.
Because many live outside of Los Angeles County, officials were investigating in cooperation with health departments in surrounding counties, the state Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
