QUINCY, Ill. — Seven people have died from Legionnaires’ disease at a veterans’ home in Quincy.
39 individuals in the home have tested positive for the disease, which is spread through inhaling aerosolized water infected with Legionella bacteria.
Both local and state health officials have stepped in to eliminate possible sources of infection by turning off the facility’s water fountains and cleaning its water tanks. Shay Drummond, director of clinical and environmental services for the Adams County Department of Health, says despite those efforts, she can’t predict when the facility will be declared free of the bacteria.
“It would be just a guess even to say any timeline,” Drummond said. “We’ll know when things are turning around when we see people that aren’t testing positive and we’re seeing people not present with the signs and symptoms.”
It can take up to ten days for symptoms to present, and another three days for testing results, so Drummond says it’s not surprising the number of confirmed Legionnaires’ cases has gone up.