Quincy vets home norovirus outbreak, sickening 20, is over

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy has ended.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday that about 20 people suffered symptoms of norovirus for a few days after they first reported them March 30.

The Quincy veterans home campus has also been beset by an ongoing health crisis with Legionnaire's disease. The water-borne malady has contributed to 13 deaths among residents since 2015.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says norovirus caused by food contamination affects as many as 21 million people annually. A statement from the Public Health Department says there was no indication that the Quincy home illness was caused by kitchen operations.

Norovirus often occurs in long-term care facilities because of increased person-to-person contact.