Nine cases confirmed in northern Illinois

By News Services on July 20, 2018

Nine residents of Illinois’ McHenry County were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease in less than a month, according to the McHenry County Department of Health, and officials are scrambling to identify if any “common denominators” exist between the individuals who were sickened.

Residents of Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Huntley, McHenry and Wonder Lake in McHenry County were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, a sometimes-fatal, upper-respiratory illness, between June 7 and July 1. Their ages ranged from 46 to 82 years old.

No link or common source has been identified as to why nine residents of five cities in one county have come down with the pneumonia-like illness.

“I can tell you eight people were hospitalized, (and) seven have been released,” Keri Zaleski, the McHenry County Department of Health public information officer, said in an email to the Woodstock Independent. “(Federal privacy) laws prevent any further information about this.”

None of the individuals sickened were patients or residents of long-term-care facilities, but they – along with other health-care providers and local municipalities – were being alerted “as a precautionary measure,” according to Zaleski.

Help with the investigation
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is assisting in the investigation, and local officials have contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update them on the situation.

There were four cases of Legionnaires’ disease in McHenry County in 2017, nine in 2016, and three in 2015.

The county is located in northern Illinois, and its northern-most border lies on the Wisconsin state line. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 308,760, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois.

Similar but different?
In neighboring Kane County, the county directly south of McHenry County, officials are investigating two cases of Legionnaires’ disease from May and June to determine whether they are related to the current situation in McHenry.

“For all we know, the cases are not related to what is going on in McHenry County,” Tom Schlueter, Kane County Health Department spokesperson, told the Aurora Beacon-News. “We’ll be working with the Illinois Department of Public Health and McHenry County to determine if we have any similar cases.”

The two cases are the only cases to be reported in Kane County this year, down from 17 cases confirmed in 2017.

Legionnaires’ woes in state
Earlier this year, it was learned that the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy (IVHQ) was battling a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak for the fourth consecutive year after a fourth resident was confirmed with the disease.

There were six confirmed cases at IVHQ last year, including the death of one person. The 2017 outbreak increased the number who have died at the facility because of Legionnaires’ disease to 13 since 2015. There were more than 50 illnesses and 12 deaths during the 2015 outbreak.

More than 300 cases of Legionnaires’ disease are reported in Illinois each year, according to the IDPH. There have been 91 cases so far in 2018, after 332 were confirmed in 2017, and 318 in 2016.

Legionnaires’ information

Legionnaires’ disease occurs more frequently in hot, humid weather. It is contracted by inhaling Legionella bacteria in microscopic water droplets, usually in the form of mist or vapor. The bacteria grow best in warm water and are found primarily in human-made environments.

Where do Legionella live?
Outbreaks have been linked to a number of sources:

the cooling towers of air conditioning systems
water systems, such as those used in hospitals, nursing homes, and hotels
large plumbing systems
hot-water tanks and heaters
showers and faucets
swimming pools
hot tubs and whirlpools
equipment used in physical therapy
mist machines and hand-held sprayers
decorative fountains.

Warmer weather to blame?
Legionnaires’ disease is “an emerging disease in the sense that the number of recorded cases of Legionnaires’ in the United States continues to increase,” said Laura Cooley, MD, MPH from the Respiratory Diseases Branch of the CDC.

Cooley said the increase is due to a rise in the susceptibility of the population, with more and more people on immunosuppressive medications. Also, there could be more Legionella in the environment, with warmer temperatures creating the right conditions for bacterial growth. The last three years have been the hottest years on record, with NASA ranking 2016 as the warmest and 2017 second-warmest.

About 25,000 cases annually
The CDC estimates that 25,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease occur in the U.S. yearly. Only 5,000 cases are reported, however, because of the disease’s non-specific signs and symptoms. Cases are more commonly reported during the summer and early fall but can happen any time of the year.

Legionnaires’ symptoms
Legionnaires’ disease is similar to other types of pneumonia. Symptoms can even resemble those of the common flu, which is why it often goes under-reported. Symptoms include:

cough
shortness of breath
fever
muscle aches
headaches
gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Who is most at risk?
Anyone can become ill from Legionella, but those most susceptible to infection include:

people 50 years of age or older
smokers, both current and former
heavy drinkers of alcoholic beverages
people with chronic lung disease
people with compromised immune systems
recipients of organ transplants
individuals who are on specific drug protocols (corticosteroids, to name one).