Rauner Speaks on Legionnaire's Disease

Gov. Bruce Rauner said the state is doing everything it can to prevent the spread of Legionnaires' disease at a veterans home where the outbreak last year sickened 52 people and killed 12.

Rauner visited the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy on Wednesday, a day after officials announced that two more residents of the home were sickened and less than a month after a nearly $5 million water treatment plant and delivery system was unveiled at the facility.

The home has stopped admitting new residents.

In a news release, Rauner's office said further water restrictions may be put in place until the source of a news cases can be identified. It cautioned, though, that the source may never be identified. It cautioned, though, that the source of may never be identified due to the nature of the bacteria that cause the disease, which can be inhaled in water vapor.

Federal officials have said the bacteria that caused the outbreak last year were likely spread by an aging water system at the 129-year-old facility.


Information provided by the State Journal-Register