An Illinois inmate at Stateville Correctional Center has been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, health officials announced Wednesday.
The inmate is currently being treated for the disease at an outside hospital, according to Illinois Department of Corrections spokesperson Nicole Wilson.
No other inmates have experienced symptoms associated with the disease and further testing from the infected inmate’s cell mate has come back negative.
“We are working to identify the source and have already begun sanitizing potential areas of concern,” Wilson told NBC Chicago via email.
As of Wednesday, 12 people in New York City have died from the Legionnaires’ – a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia – in what Mayor de Blasio called the largest outbreak the city has experienced in its history.
At least 115 others have been sickened by the disease since the first patient was reported on July 10.
Officials have said the people who died were middle-aged or older adults with underlying health conditions.
