Update on Legionnaires' disease: the church water fountain will be tested

CHAMPAIGN – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District plans to test Wednesday at a local church and two other sites potentially linked to six cases of legionellosis in Champaign County.

The first Christian church, Champaign, was identified by state health authorities as one of the targets of the investigation.

However, only three of six local people with Legionellosis – a serious form of pneumonia – have been in contact with the church since September 15, according to Julie Pryde, Public Health District Administrator at Champaign-Urbana.

The alleged source in the church is a decorative water fountain that has been extinguished, she said. Water features such as fountains can pose a threat if the water is infected with Legionella bacteria because water can become aerosolized and people inhale it, Pryde said. .

The local health district does not disclose the other two investigative sites and expects results in a few days, she said.

Chief Pastor of the First Christian Church, Danny Schaffner, Jr. said the church has both an outdoor fountain and an indoor baptism fountain.

While the local health district contacted the church earlier Tuesday to ask for information on testing a fountain, church officials learned that Tuesday night by a press release official press that the church was a target of investigation on legionnaires contamination. The search for the source of legionnaires' disease requires in-depth interviews of people who have become ill as well as environmental tests, said Pryde.

"It can be difficult for people to remember what they have done in the last 14 days," she said. "It's about interviewing and questioning again, gathering things together, looking for commonalities."

Meanwhile, Pryde has advised anyone with symptoms of pneumonia to see a doctor.

All people exposed to the bacteria do not get sick, but people over the age of 50, smokers and people with chronic lung disease or a weakened immune system are considered the most exposed.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Legionnaires' disease usually starts with symptoms such as high fever, chills, muscle aches and headaches. It can also be associated with coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea. Symptoms develop within 14 days of exposure.