A west suburban Batavia woman diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease shared about her battle with the disease on Monday with NBC 5.
Angela Prusinski lives near the Covenant Living at the Holmstad senior home where 12 cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported.
Prusinski, who already has underlying medical issues, said she was recovering from the flu, and started to feel even worse.
"Hearing that I tested positive was quite a shock, " she said.
Legionnaires’ disease is not transmitted person-to-person, but people can contract it by breathing in small droplets of water containing Legionella bacteria.
Prusinski lives approximately half a mile from Covenant Living, and the Kane County Health Dept. said the droplets can travel a mile from their source.
Although the source had not been pinpointed as of Monday, cases of Legionnaires' often involve large cooling systems using water.
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In response to the outbreak, Covenant Living confirmed it was taking several actions including flushing the water, installing filters and cleaning cooling towers.
Prusinski, a working wife and mother of two, said it will be a least a month before she can return to her job. Meanwhile, the Batavia resident told NBC 5 that she's thankful the disease is not contagious.
“I’m more worried about everyone being healthy, and let’s take care of this,” Prusinski said.
The lung infection is fatal in approximately one of every 10 cases, according to CDC research.
In 2018, Illinois reported 510 cases of Legionnaires’ disease statewide with 285 confirmed to date in 2019.
