4 more cases of Legionnaires' disease at Batavia senior home
The Kane County Health Department has received reports of four more confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease at Covenant Living at the Holmstad in Batavia, officials said Monday.
"Two cases were reported to us this week, we received word of an early-onset case from mid-August and an additional case reported this past Saturday," health department Executive Director Barbara Jeffers said in a news release. "We are working closely with the Illinois Department of Public Health and Covenant Living to monitor this situation."
Late last month, the health department was notified that four residents at Covenant, 700 W. Fabyan Parkway, had been hospitalized with confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease.
Since the initial reporting, Covenant Living has collaborated with both the state and county on proactive measures at the senior living community, officials said in the release.
"Water testing results are still pending ... to determine if there is a source of legionella bacteria on the Holmstad campus. However, because the safety of our residents, guests and employees is our top priority, we have proactively and aggressively moved forward with several of the measures that could potentially be advised in the event of a positive result," Amanda Gosnell, Covenant Living executive director, said in the news release.
Legionnaires' disease is a serious lung infection that people can get by breathing in small droplets of water containing Legionella bacteria.
Outbreaks are most commonly associated with buildings or structures that have complex water systems, such as hotels, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and cruise ships. The bacterium can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems, such as hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, large plumbing systems, and decorative fountains.
Most healthy people do not get Legionnaires' disease after being exposed to Legionella bacteria, the health department said.
People at increased risk are those 50 or older, or who have risk factors such as being a current or former smoker, having a chronic disease, or having a weakened immune system.
In 2018, Illinois reported 512 cases of Legionnaires' disease statewide with 251 confirmed to date in 2019.
More information about Legionnaires' disease and updates can be found at KaneHealth.com/Pages/Menu-Disease.aspx.