The disease can incubate for up to 10 days. State health officials said the confirmed number of cases of the flu-like disease had risen by eight in the past day to 66, including two elderly women who died last week. All the confirmed cases are Australian. Another 41 people are thought to have the disease after developing respiratory illnesses and are waiting for test results. That group includes two people from New Zealand, one from Britain and one from the United States.
Few details are available about the overseas tourists thought to have the disease.
The warning comes as Victoria faced a second health scare on Thursday after the Royal Melbourne Hospital said nine of its patients were possibly exposed to the degenerative brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease after undergoing surgery with potentially contaminated instruments. The aquarium's air conditioning unit has been disinfected and the center remains open. About 2,500 people have been tested for the disease since last Thursday. Legionnaire's flu-like symptoms include headaches, fevers, chills and muscle aches, followed by respiratory problems and pneumonia. The disease is fatal in about 10 percent of cases.