3 schools evacuated after Legionella bacteria found

Since the central office for the school district is closed, emergency operations will be set up at the district’s Plant Operations facility off of Shales Parkway. Larkin High School had Legionella 940 part per million its cooling tower; Eastview Middle School and Central Office, which has alternative programs, had more than 1,000 parts per million. It can show up in air conditioners, showers, faucets, hot tubs, cooling towers, and large plumbing systems.

Legionnaires’ can not be spread from person to person, and is contracted by breathing in water vapor containing the bacteria.

Legionella can also cause a flu-like disease called Pontiac fever, which is milder in nature.

Eastview students are being transported to Bartlett High until parents can pick them up.

The schools and the district offices located at Gifford were evacuated and closed for the day Wednesday morning after the elevated levels were discovered during annual air quality testing.

Students were sent home from three schools in the northwest suburbs after Legionella bacteria were found in the cooling systems. Special needs students were also being transported home.

The Kane County Health Department reports that no cases of Legionnaire’s disease have been reported, and emphasized that the Elgin schools were closed “out of an abundance of caution”.