An unidentified resident at the Illinois’ Veterans’ Home in Quincy recently was treated and then released after being diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) said in a release.
The rare disease was diagnosed while the resident was being treated at a local hospital in late November, the release said.
This incident is the first reported case of Legionnaires’ disease since in 2015, the release said. In response to that outbreak, IDVA redid all of the plumbing at the Quincy facility and regularly tests for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and other bacteria which could harm older patients with compromised immune systems, the release said.
Although still considered a rare disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Legionnaires’ disease cases in the U.S. have increased in recent years. On average, Illinois sees about 300 diagnosed cases of the disease each year.
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