Elgin schools evacuated after Legionella bacteria found

Three buildings were evacuated due to the high levels of Legionella bacteria: Larkin High School, Eastview Middle and the Central Office.

The district serves about 40,000 students and is the second largest in Illinois with five high schools, eight middle schools and 40 elementary schools, according to its website. She says no students were ill.

NBC5 in Chicago reports that three schools in the town of Elgin were evacuated Wednesday morning after Legionella bacteria was detected in school “cooling towers”. “The guidelines from OSHA (The Occupational Safety and Health Administration) say if you have a level of 1-thousand parts per million or higher that you should take emergency action two of them came in above 1000 and Larkin came in at 940”. Gifford Street programs are moving to Elgin High School until officials “can get those students home”.

The school district posted a message on its Facebook page, explaining the decision to evacuate the schools immediately. Sanders said the bacterium was contained.

The school district offered no information regarding when the schools could reopen. “I feel that they should have done all this testing before school started to eliminate any of this leaving early”.

Legionella bacteria causes Legionnaires disease, a severe form of bacterial pneumonia. The illness is not spread person-to-person.

According to the CDC, Legionella is a bacteria found naturally in the environment, especially in warm water systems.