Did Municipal Water Distribution System Deficiencies Contribute to a Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak in Quincy, IL?

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dc.contributor.authorRhoads, William J.en
dc.contributor.authorKeane, Timen
dc.contributor.authorSpencer, M. Stormeen
dc.contributor.authorPruden, Amyen
dc.contributor.authorEdwards, Marc A.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-11T14:16:05Zen
dc.date.available2021-02-11T14:16:05Zen
dc.date.issued2020-12-08en
dc.description.abstractFifty-eight people were sickened and 12 died from a Legionnaires' disease (LD) outbreak in Quincy, IL, in 2015. The initial outbreak investigation identified deficiencies at the Illinois Veteran's Home (IVHQ), but these did not account for four community-acquired cases that occurred concurrently with no IVHQ exposure. We broaden the investigation to evaluate seven lines of evidence and assess whether municipal drinking water supply deficiencies potentially contributed to a community-wide outbreak. Notably, 3-6 months prior to the outbreak, the primary disinfectant was changed and corrosion control was interrupted, causing a sustained decrease in disinfectant residuals throughout Quincy's distribution system. We hypothesize this created more favorable conditions for Legionella growth throughout the system and an increase in water lead levels. These municipal system deficiencies were not identified in prior investigations of the outbreak, but their impacts on public health outcomes are consistent with those of the 2014-2016 Flint Water Crisis. However, they occurred in Quincy without any legal violations in the municipal water system or public acknowledgment of community-wide health risks. This study supports the critical need for improved data collection during changes in municipal water treatment. Additional regulatory and communication requirements can better protect public health from both LD and lead.en
dc.description.notesFunding for this work was provided by the State of Illinois. The State of Illinois did not contribute to the study design, analysis, or writeup. The authors acknowledge Dr. Sid Roy for his assistance in obtaining and analyzing the biosolid data from the Quincy municipal wastewater treatment plant and Maylin Waddel-Horren for her assistance in tabulating FOIA data.en
dc.description.sponsorshipState of Illinoisen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00637en
dc.identifier.issn2328-8930en
dc.identifier.issue12en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/102346en
dc.identifier.volume7en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.titleDid Municipal Water Distribution System Deficiencies Contribute to a Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak in Quincy, IL?en
dc.title.serialEnvironmental Science & Technology Lettersen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen
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Destination Area: Global Systems Science (GSS)