SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Latest on cases of Legionnaires’ disease at a western Illinois veterans’ home (all times local):
1:55 p.m.
A third new case of Legionnaires’ disease has been reported this week in a resident at a western Illinois veterans’ home.
State officials said Thursday that the latest laboratory-confirmed case at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy was reported late Wednesday. The resident is in stable condition. The illness has been linked to the deaths of 13 people at the home since 2015.
In response, the state is boosting water disinfection to reduce potential exposure. The disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by bacteria in water vapor that’s inhaled. The state also is installing new filter on sinks to reduce aeration, limiting bathing to showers only and checking residents’ temperatures every two hours while they’re awake.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention representatives returned to the home Tuesday to review testing protocols for those with respiratory illness.
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10:40 a.m.
An Illinois panel has advanced a resolution that demands a clear and detailed timeline of the events surrounding a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy Veterans Home.
The outbreak claimed the lives of 12 residents in 2015 and another life last fall.
The State Journal-Register reports that the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved the resolution during a hearing Wednesday morning. It now goes to the full House.
If approved, the resolution would give the Illinois Department of Public Health Director Nirav Shah, Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries and Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office two weeks to a provide a comprehensive timeline of the events.
The resolution also calls for a proposal of solutions that would help prevent further outbreaks at the facility.
