Legionnaires' Disease Cases Linked to Suburban Niles Gym, Officials Say

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NBC 5 News

At least two cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been linked to a gym in suburban Niles, the Illinois Department of Public Health says.

According to a press release, the cases were linked to an L.A. Fitness facility in Niles in late April.

Officials say that both individuals who had contracted the illness reported using the facility’s pool, steam room, hot tub and showers during their exposure periods.

The gym closed those facilities upon notification of the cases, with laboratory results detecting Legionella pnemophila S2-14 in the hot tub, according to IDPH officials. Remediation procedures are currently underway.

According to IDPH, Legionella, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease, grows in building water systems.

The illness is a serious type of pneumonia that is contracted when individuals inhale small droplets of water, or if they accidentally swallow water that contains the bacteria. The illness generally cannot be spread from person-to-person, though it is possible in rare circumstances, IDPH says.

The disease is fatal in approximately 1-in-10 cases.  

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