The Chicago Tribune is reporting that officials are fearful that even more deaths can be expected at the 129-year old facility in western Illinois. The Illinois Department of Public Health said that all those who have died suffered with underlying medical conditions and had an average age of 86.
As of Wednesday, 45 people have been sickened with the pneumonia-like disease. Similar outbreaks have been reported in New York City and at San Quentin State Prison in California. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) says the prevalence of legionnaires’ disease is not unusual this year, although the number of patients is larger than typically seen in such outbreaks, reports NBC News.
NBC News quotes Dr. Matthew Moore, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC as saying that while outbreaks have become more common in recent years, the reason is due to better reporting and surveillance. But Dr. Moore said that regardless of the present situation, disease activity this summer is pretty much “par for the course.”
The CDC estimates that between 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with legionnaire’s disease annually, usually in the summer and early fall. This year, through August 16, 3,212 people have contracted the disease, compared to 4,486 people last year, although that number is provisional.
Ryan Yantis, a Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman said those people exhibiting symptoms are being closely monitored and treated with antibiotics. “We are going with an abundance of caution,” Yantis said on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, all of these symptoms match normal, run-of-the-mill respiratory illnesses.”
The 400 residents of the Quincy Veterans Home are relying on bottled water for drinking and taking sponge baths. The facility’s hot water tanks and air conditioning system have been cleaned, and outdoor fountains have been turned off. State health officials are asking those people with compromised immune systems or underlying illnesses to not visit the home during this outbreak.
