300 Cases Of Legionnaires' In Illinois Last Year

New reports of Legionnaires' disease at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy — where a dozen residents died during a 2015 outbreak — prompted the Illinois Department of Public Health to issue a report revealing that 300 cases of the illness were reported in Illinois last year. "The incidence of Legionnaires’ disease has been rising in the US," IDPH said last week, "In Illinois alone there were 300 reported cases in 2017 involving a wide range of private and public health facilities."

The report, released Jan. 4, revealed that there were 46 confirmed cases of the disease in 2015 at the Quincy veterans home, including 35 infected patients, six staff members and five community members. Five more cases were confirmed at the veteran's home in 2016, and six people at the home — five residents and one employee — were diagnosed with the illness between January and November 2017. One of the six veterans home patients died of the illness.

"IDPH promptly notified CDC as they learned of each new case," the report said.

Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia called by legionella bacteria. The disease is not typically spread by person-to-person contact, although that can occur in rare cases, and is usually contracted by inhaling the bacteria. Last month, IDPH said two cases of the illness were reported at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, saying the cases — one in November and one in May — were found to be related.

IDVA completed "an extensive renovation" of the plumbing system at the Quincy veteran's home following the 2015 outbreak.

The nearly $5 million project earned praise from some, but earlier this month, 12 families filed a lawsuit against the state alleging negligence and saying the 2015 outbreak and continued problems at the veteran's home were preventable.

IDPH's Legionnaire's report was issued as Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner visited the Quincy veterans home, where he stayed for several nights.

Related:

• More Legionnaires' Cases At IL Veteran's Home, Chicago Hospital
• Legionnaires' Outbreak At Illinois Veterans Home Sparks Lawsuit

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