More cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported at an Illinois veterans’ home. The facility has been trying to prevent Legionella infection since an outbreak last August during which 54 people were sickened and 12 died. On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs revealed two cases of Legionnaires’ disease that originated at the Quincy Illinois Veterans’ Home. Health officials said that the patients contracted the disease from separate buildings. The patients were treated at a hospital and are now recovering in the veterans’ home. These new cases come at a difficult time for the Quincy facility, which recently refurbished its water system. Last year’s outbreak led officials to invest in a $5 million on-site water treatment plant and delivery system, designed specifically to combat the spread of Legionella bacteria. Part of the problem is that municipal water has time to warm to a temperature at which Legionella thrives before arriving at the veterans’ home. Chemical treatment at the home should kill the bacteria. Officials are testing water in many parts of the facility and monitoring any residents who display symptoms of pneumonia. Read more about this story here. 
Two more cases of Legionnaires’ disease strike Quincy veterans’ home was last modified: July 28th, 2016 by