QUINCY, Ill. — Aug. 31, 2015 — An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Illinois Veterans’ Home has left four men dead, according to chicagotribune.com.
The men were between 82 and 91 years old, stated the article. In total, 29 men tested positive for the illness. It is unclear whether officials have detected the source of the outbreak.
“Some of those afflicted have been treated for their illnesses and are doing OK, while others are struggling, in part because the infection is compounding underlying or existing illnesses,” Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs spokesman Ryan Yantis said in the article.
Diagnosing Legionnaires’ disease can be complicated because of other illnesses common this time of year, reported the article. Yantis added that because of this, residents that show "respiratory, pneumonia-type symptoms will be treated as if they have Legionnaires’ disease until lab results confirm the individual is negative for the bacteria.”
The facility has cleaned hot water tanks and the cooling tower, used bottled water and shut off fountains and other water vapor sources, shared the article.
The home’s outbreak comes amid others at Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, San Quentin State Prison in California, the South Bronx and a private school in New York City, noted the article.
You can find the entire article here.
