Illinois, Beware Of This Dangerous Smell In Your Water

Cases of one nasty disease have been reported in Illinois and it's easily caught through water.

According to NBC Chicago, 3 cases of Legionnaire's Disease have been reported in Shelby County in Illinois. The bacteria is legionella, which hangs around in water and can make you sick just by breathing in molecules of infected water droplets.

Bottom line: Not good. And something to watch out for when you're traveling.

Symptoms

If you get Legionnaire's, you could feel like you have the flu for 2-5 days, according to WHO. If it's bad enough, water hygiene pros at Busters Group say that the symptoms of Legionnaire's could make you run a fever, have chills, a dry cough, muscle pains, feel really weak and have headaches.  Legionnaire's can be treated with antibiotics though, it's rarely fatal, and anyone older with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

Sniff Your Water

Legionella isn't spread person-to-person. It's transferred through water supply, in places like hotels, hospitals, and cruise ships. It can also come from aerosols like air conditioner cooling towers and humidifiers. The stuff can even live in soil.

You could actually smell what might be legionella in your glass of water or sink. If you smell a rotten egg smell or sulfur in your water, that could be a legionella contamination.

WHO says there's not a vaccine for Legionnaire's at the moment so it's on you to just be mindful when you're traveling and sharing water with other people. Rotten egg water should be a hard pass anyway.