Member of sick family diagnosed with Legionnaire's disease

SAGINAW, MI (WNEM) -

WNEM TV5 has new information about a family who contracted a mystery illness after a family reunion trip up north.

Tonight officials have confirmed at least one person has a case of Legionnaires disease.

Twenty-seven family members went to a private resort in Boyne City, but when they came back last week, four had to be hospitalized, and 10 others have become sick or are taking antibiotics.

Two of them are on life support at the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor.

One family member is so sick, she remains on a respirator and was diagnosed with Legionnaires.

The Saginaw County Health Department worked over the weekend to interview family members in an attempt to piece together any common threads, things like where they ate, where they slept, to figure out exactly where they may have been exposed to the disease.

While family members got together Monday to look at pictures of their trip, they say the most common thread is the lodge itself. TV5 called the lodge several times, but were told no one of authority could talk to us. TV5 has chosen not to identify the lodge until further investigation by authorities is completed.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Legionnaire's disease is described as:

A severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection. Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium known as legionella.

You can't catch Legionnaires' disease from person-to-person contact. Instead, most people get Legionnaires' disease from inhaling the bacteria. Older adults, smokers and people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to Legionnaires' disease.

Legionella bacterium also causes Pontiac fever, a milder illness resembling the flu. Separately or together, the two illnesses are sometimes called legionellosis. Pontiac fever usually clears on its own. But untreated Legionnaires' disease can be fatal. Although prompt treatment with antibiotics usually cures Legionnaires' disease, some people continue to experience problems after treatment.

Stay with WNEM.com and TV5 as we learn more about these cases.

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