Individual contracts Legionnaires' disease in Garden City

GARDEN CITY, Mich. (FOX 2) - An individual at Garden City Public Schools is being treated for Legionnaires' disease after contracting the bacteria earlier this month. 

The individual is associated with Burger Baylor School, which caters to individual with autism. Run out of the Garden City school district, officials are now coordinating with the Wayne County Health Department for a safety plan.

The bacteria legionella grows in warm water and other systems like fountains and hot tubs. When someone is exposed to the bacteria, it can cause respiratory disease and lead to severe forms of pneumonia. 

While adults over 50 are most at risk, it cannot spread from person to person. 

In the case of Burger Baylor, the classroom where the infected person was located will be independently tested. So will the building's water and its HVAC systems. 

In an email to families, the director of student services said the school tests its water regularly with the most recent test on April 24. At that time, there was no identifiable contamination. 

The health department also didn't recommend closing the school. Instead, students normally assigned to the classroom will be dispersed as a temporary measure.