July 12, 2001 Posted: 9:11 AM EDT (1311 GMT)

MURCIA, Spain -- More than 170 cases of Legionnaire's disease have been confirmed in southeastern Spain, regional health officials said.

Health official Francisco Marques said the disease's pneumonia-like symptoms are also afflicting 292 others, though their diagnoses have not yet been confirmed.

Sanitation crews sterilised four air conditioning towers that were found to be circulating the bacteria that causes the disease, which is transmittable via water vapour.

It is not known which system was the origin of the outbreak.

One of the suspect towers was for Murcia's largest department store. Investigators said all the victims lived or worked in the central Murcia, 250 miles southeast of Madrid.

The disease was first noted at a 1976 American Legion convention after 34 attendees died. It is a form of pneumonia indicated by high fever, headache, shortness of breath and abdominal pain.

There have been 26 deaths and 500 infections attributed to Legionnaire's disease in Spain in the past five years.