Preliminary environmental results show 47 negative and one positive test for Legionella at veterans’ home

SPRINGFIELD – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Thursday evening that 47 of 48 environmental samples taken at the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Quincy (IVHQ) tested negative for Legionella bacteria. The single positive water sample was collected prior to passing through a showerhead, which contains a point-of-use filter that is validated for the removal of Legionella. The CDC temporarily removed the showerhead to access the piping interior, pre-filtration, to determine whether Legionella was present in the water system behind the filter. Patients using that shower would be protected from exposure to Legionella by the physical barrier of the filter.

In 2017, five residents at IVHQ and one employee have tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. Three single cases of Legionnaires’ disease were identified earlier this year, and two cases were identified in October, and one in November. The cases prompted IDPH and the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs to request CDC experts return to Quincy to help determine how to further reduce the risk of illness.

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