2 new Legionnaires’ cases confirmed in Batavia, bringing total to 14

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Saturday that two more people in Batavia have contracted Legionnaires’ disease, after 12 were already found with the infection at a retirement home in the west suburb.

The two new cases were discovered Thursday, health officials said. Unlike the previous 12 cases confirmed since Aug. 31, which were found in residents at the Covenenant Living in Holmstad retirement home, the two newest cases were “community based.”

Legionnaires’, a form of pneumonia, is a serious lung infection that people contract by breathing in small water droplets containing the Legionella bacteria, officials said. It is mostly dangerous to people over the age of 50 or to those with increased risk factors, such as current or former smokers and people with chronic diseases or immune problems.

“As the epidemiological and environmental investigation of this Legionnaires’ disease cluster continues, it is important to release this information to ensure that so nearby residents are aware and seek treatment if they become symptomatic,” IDPH director Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.

After identifying the most recent cases, the IDPH has taken samples of potential sources within a one-mile radius of the Covenant Living campus, officials said.

Legionnaires’ symptoms begin to show about two weeks after exposure, officials said. Those symptoms include a high fever, chills, muscle aches, cough and shortness of breath.

More than 200 cases have been confirmed in the state so far this year. Illinois saw 512 reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease statewide in 2018.