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Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Officials say risk of West Nile virus ‘high' in Chicago after city sees first 3 cases of the year
Chicago is now at a high risk level of West Nile virus after reporting its first three confirmed human cases of the virus this year, according to local health officials. This week, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced that three city residents from the Northwest and South sides between the ages 40 and 80 tested positive for the virus and that their symptoms began in late July or early August. The state saw its first human case of the year on June 24, which was the earliest case of West Nile in Illinois since 2016. 'We are seeing a higher proportion of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus than usual this year,' CDPH Commissioner Olusimbo Ige said in a news release. In 2024, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported a total of 69 cases, leading to 13 deaths of West Nile virus, with nearly half of the cases coming out of Cook County. To date, in addition to those reported by CDPH this week, the state agency has reported five other human cases this year in DuPage, DeKalb, Lake, Madison and Wayne counties. West Nile virus is primarily spread to people through mosquito bites and is not transmitted by human-to-human contact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people infected with West Nile do not feel sick, the CDC says, though about 1 in 5 people develop a fever and other flu-like symptoms and 1 in about 150 people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness. Most human cases of West Nile occur in late summer and fall, when mosquitoes are most active. With no vaccines or medicines to prevent or treat the virus, the most effective method to prevent West Nile infection is to avoid mosquito bites, according to CDPH. To track the risk level of West Nile in Chicago, CDPH from June through October collects mosquitoes from traps placed across the city and tests them for West Nile. Last week, CDPH tested 121 pools of collected mosquitoes and detected West Nile in 59, or 48.8%, of those pools, according to city surveillance data. The week before, the department tested 130 pools of mosquitoes and 81, or 62.3%, tested positive for the virus. That means Chicago has reached a 'high risk' level of West Nile and, because mosquitoes are testing positive earlier, could see that heightened risk last longer this year. That also means the CDPH has sprayed more insecticide to reduce mosquito numbers than it has in recent years, Martin said. Over the past few weeks, CDPH has been spraying insecticides to kill mosquitoes in various areas across the city, including O'Hare International Airport, Logan Square and Avondale, with the department spraying seven more communities — Forest Glen, Norwood Park, Mount Greenwood, Beverly, East Garfield Park, Near West Side and North Lawndale — this week. To curb infection, CDPH is encouraging Chicagoans to: use Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellant; eliminate standing water; keep grass and weeds short to eliminate hiding places for mosquitoes; and make sure all screens, windows and doors are shut tight. CDPH also has advised the people who are immunocompromised to consider avoiding outside activity during peak mosquito hours from dusk to dawn. The public is encouraged to track CDPH West Nile surveillance data.
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago-area nursing homes fined for ‘severe' violations that led to patient deaths, Illinois health department says
The Illinois Department of Public Health has doled out tens of thousands of dollars in fines to dozens of nursing homes throughout the Chicago area, including a handful where 'severe' violations led to residents' deaths, the agency announced this week. One of the heftiest fines, at $50,000, was given to Cicero's City View Multicare Center. IDPH found that the facility didn't properly supervise a cognitively impaired resident's eating, saying the 60-year-old man choked and died as a result. The resident was admitted to the facility in August 2023 with terminal illness under hospice services, the report stated. The man had diagnoses of dementia, diabetes and bipolar schizophrenia, and required supervision when eating. His name isn't included in the report. Staff told emergency responders on Oct. 12, 2024, that the man — who was on a pureed diet — grabbed a turkey sandwich and began choking. Nurses said the resident clutched his throat and looked like he was 'trying really hard to cough,' the report said. When the nurse opened his mouth it was full of saliva. Although staff and paramedics attempted the Heimlich maneuver, the man died that night around 7:48 p.m. at the hospital of 'hypoxic cardiopulmonary arrest,' the report said. A spokesperson for Cicero confirmed that the police department responded to MacNeal Hospital after being notified of the resident's death. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled the death an accident. Statewide, the agency handed out nearly 250 fines in the first quarter of 2025, including four 'AA' violations of the Nursing Home Care Act. Most of the incidents included in the quarterly report took place in late 2024 and early this year. The state's long-term-care facilities serve more than 100,000 residents. Ron Nunziato is the senior director of policy and regulatory affairs for the industry trade group Health Care Council of Illinois, which represents nursing homes in the state. He said the state survey process is meant to highlight areas for improvement among facilities, which are 'being held to increasingly high standards.' He said facilities often appeal the violations for factual inaccuracies. Individual operators referred questions to the HCCI to comment on the state public health department's findings. 'We take all violations seriously and work closely with our members to make sure any issues are addressed quickly and thoroughly,' Nunziato said. 'We remain committed to advocating for a strong and well-supported long-term-care system in Illinois, one that prioritizes resident safety, quality of life and workforce stability.' Bria of Palos Hills in the southwest suburbs also received $52,000 in fines for two violations. For the most serious, IDPH found that the facility failed to prevent unintended removals of ventilators and tracheostomy tubes, which help patients breathe, and failed to properly intervene for low blood sugar, ultimately leading to a patient's death. The report stated that staff found that a resident — who had been seen 'fidgeting' with medical equipment — had removed a tracheostomy tube early in the morning last October. The report said the resident didn't have a pulse due to lack of breathing support. The report didn't state the resident's age or gender, but said they had 'severe cognitive impairment' and was unable to follow commands, When a respiratory therapist noticed that the resident didn't have a pulse, both nurses were on break and not in the unit, the report said. The therapist said it took about two minutes to leave the room and call 'code blue' over the overhead speaker. The therapist and a nurse from the next unit over performed CPR until paramedics arrived, the report said. 'The nurse assigned to (the resident) was outside the facility on break and did not return until after paramedics transferred (the resident) out of the facility,' the report said. The resident was resuscitated by paramedics and admitted to the intensive care unit, the report said. However, about three weeks later when the resident was back at the facility, the fire department found the resident dead in their bed. Nurses reported that the resident was found to have low blood sugar earlier during rounds, and that 911 wasn't called quickly enough, the report said. Sam Brooks, the director of public policy at the advocacy group National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, called the report troubling but not particularly surprising, citing low staffing nationwide as the main issue. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Illinois 47th out of 50 states for nursing home quality, based on federal reports of health inspections, staffing and other quality measures. 'Inadequate staffing results in corners being cut, care not being provided, folks falling or developing pressure ulcers or not getting their medication, and that's often and the most likely underlying cause,' Brooks said. 'I really can't understate the impact staffing has.' In Brooks' experience, nursing home operators often view fines as the 'cost of doing business.' It's more costly to properly staff a facility than to pay a fine. Illinois nursing homes that consistently perform poorly can be placed in a Special Focus Facility program designed to improve care, an IDPH spokesperson said. Facilities in the federal program are subject to more inspections, escalating penalties and potential termination from Medicare and Medicaid. 'Every day, residents are dying and languishing from poor care and neglect and inadequate staffing, and it affects families,' he said. 'It devastates families and devastates residents. Until we focus on providing better care, we're just not going to get there.'
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County reports first case of West Nile virus
Lake County has reported its first human case of the year of neuroinvasive West Nile virus, with a resident in their 70s becoming ill earlier this month. An update on the victim's condition was not released. This is the second case of the virus in Illinois reported this year. Last year saw 69 cases across the state, including six in Lake County, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Executive Director Chris Hoff advised caution for residents spending more time outdoors during the summer, exposing themselves to mosquitoes, which can carry the virus. 'Remember to take steps to protect yourself and your family from mosquitoes to reduce your risk of getting West Nile virus,' Hoff said. According to a county release, nine of 214 batches of mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile virus in 2025. West Nile virus typically peaks during the late summer, usually from July through September when the mosquito population is at its peak, the release said. The department gave '4 Ds of Defense' for protecting against mosquitoes — drain, defend, dawn to dusk and dress. These include draining any standing water, using EPA-approved insect repellents, using proper protection during prime mosquito activity hours and wearing clothes that cover exposed skin. According to the release, most people infected with West Nile virus have no symptoms, but some become ill three to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. In rare cases, the virus can affect the brain or spinal cord, leading to 'serious neurological symptoms' such as stiff neck, confusion, sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, trouble walking or even death. Those over 60 and individuals with weakened immune systems or multiple medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile virus.
Chicago Tribune
09-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
The US is having its worst year for measles in more than three decades
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there were 1,274 cases for the year and the country almost lost its status of having eliminated the vaccine-preventable illness. That could happen this year if the virus has nonstop spread for 12 months The Illinois Department of Public Health has reported 10 measles cases in the state so far this year. There were 67 cases last year. This year's outbreaks, some of them interconnected, started five months ago in undervaccinated communities in West Texas. Three people have died — two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico — and dozens of people have been hospitalized. Public health experts maintain the true case count may be higher than state health departments have confirmed. North America has three other major measles outbreaks, with 2,966 cases in Chihuahua state, Mexico, 2,223 cases in Ontario, Canada and 1,230 in Alberta, Canada. Twelve other states have current confirmed outbreaks of three or more people — Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah — and four other states saw their outbreaks end. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles after two doses. The World Health Organization said in 2000 that measles had been eliminated from the U.S. The CDC identified 22 outbreaks in 2019, the largest being two separate clusters in New York — 412 in New York state and 702 in New York City. These were linked because as measles was spreading through close-knit Orthodox Jewish communities, the CDC said. It's a similar situation in North America this year, where the Canada, Mexico and Texas outbreaks stem from large Mennonite communities in the regions. Mennonite churches do not formally discourage vaccination, though more conservative Mennonite communities historically have low vaccination rates and a distrust of government. A recent study found childhood vaccination rates against measles fell after the COVID-19 pandemic in nearly 80% of the more than 2,000 U.S. counties with available data, including in states that are battling outbreaks this year. Only 92.7% of kindergarteners in the U.S. had the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the 2023-2024 school year, below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks. In Gaines County, Texas, the epicenter of the Texas outbreak, only 82% of kindergarteners were up-to-date with MMR vaccines. State and federal leaders have for years kept funding stagnant for local public health departments' vaccination programs that are tasked with reversing the trend. 'What we're seeing with measles is a little bit of a 'canary in a coal mine,'' said Lauren Gardner, leader of Johns Hopkins University's independent measles and COVID tracking databases. 'It's indicative of a problem that we know exists with vaccination attitudes in this county and just, I think, likely to get worse.'
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin's downtown splash pad the perfect cool-down place on hot 90-degree-plus days
Nothing says summer like jumping into a splash pad on a hot day. But when you're only 11 months old and it's your first time experiencing Elgin's Festival Park water attraction — or any splash pad, for that matter — the concept can be a bit intimidating. Such was the case for Armiz Rodriguez, who was initially reluctant to check it out even with his mother, Kimberly, holding his hands as they got inches away from the shooting water sprays. But sitting near the water and letting it fall on his head seemed to help him get over his fears. Armiz's siblings — 5-year-old twins Athena and Aquiles — had no such qualms as they ran through the bouncing fountains that Kimberly said she remembers playing in herself as a child. With temperatures expected to be in the low- to mid-90s over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, it's a sure bet the splash pad will be seeing plenty of action from kids and maybe a few adults wanting a brief reprieve. Heat indexes are going to make it feel like it's closer to 100, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Lenning. '(The holiday) will be a warm but not abnormally warm July day,' Lenning said. Fortunately, the humidity 'won't be quite as high as it could be this time of year.' With the hot temperatures, however, will come clear skies — perfect for the Fourth of July Parade at 11 a.m. in downtown Elgin followed later in the day by an outdoor gathering in Festival Park with food trucks, family activities, live music and a fireworks display at dusk. Forecasts are calling for a chance of storms Saturday night and Sunday, Lenning said. Although temperatures in the 90s are not unusual for early July, the normal high is about 84 degrees, according to the weather service. The hottest holiday on record in the Chicago area was 102 degrees in 2012. But it has been unusually hot so early in the summer season, with a heat advisory issued for three days in late June when temps exceeded the 90-degree mark. In fact, there were 10 days of temperatures over 90 degrees in June and the average average temperature in the Chicago area 3.6% above normal last month, Lenning said. 'People need to be careful about making sure they have a way to cool off and stay hydrated,' Lenning said of the next few days. 'This time of year, we don't want anyone to have heat-related illnesses.' Cooling off in water is one good option, the Illinois Department of Public Health advises. So is staying hydrated and cool and learning the signs of heatstroke, which include hot, dry skin; chills; confusion or dizziness; and slurred speech. Maria Rocha brought her 7-year-old daughter, also named Maria, to the splash pad Wednesday to make sure she stayed cool but couldn't resist going in herself. 'It's so fun,' Rocha said. 'The water feels great.' And it beat the heck out of what she had been planning to do that afternoon, she said. 'Ironing can wait,' Rocha said. The splash pad is open daily in the summer from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
