Legionnaires’ case confirmed at a Bolingbrook senior home

Health officials are investigating a case of Legionnaires’ disease found in a senior home in southwest suburban Bolingbrook.

The bacteria was recently found in a resident of Meadowbrook Manor, 431 W. Remington Blvd., according to Steve Brandy, spokesman for the Will County Health Department.

State and local health officials could not identify a potential outside source of the Legionnaires’, Brandy said. So far, water inside the building has tested negative for the disease.

In a statement, Meadowbrook Manor said the facility is taking safety measures to reduce the risk of exposure. Test results have not determined when or where the resident was exposed to the bacteria, according to the statement.

Legionnaires’ can’t be spread from person-to-person, but can be deadly.

Thirteen people died after contracting the disease since 2015 at the Illinois Veterans home in Quincy. In Chicago, three people staying at the JW Marriott Chicago, at 151 W. Adams, died from the disease after a 2012 outbreak at the Loop hotel.

Legionella bacteria are transmitted through water droplets and can cause serious lung infections. The bacteria mixes with the air in showers or fountains. Most healthy people are not infected after being exposed to the bacteria.

The disease was discovered in 1976 during an outbreak at a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion.