MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa– The number of Legionnaires’ disease cases in Marshalltown climbed to 61 on Tuesday– seven more than had been reported the day prior.

The bacterial infection, which is contracted by inhaling contaminated aerosolized water droplets, continues to spread, and health officials still do not know the source. The investigation is an all-hands effort that the local health department said is utilizing multiple agencies and is spanning seven days a week. However, for at least one local family, that effort came too late.

“Bernie was an elderly man who was attacked by an opportunistic disease,” said Peter Grady. “He passed away on the 29th.”

Peter is talking about his big brother, Father Bernard “Bernie” Charles Grady, 82. He complained of dizziness during dinner on Friday, Aug. 22, and passed a week later.

Peter described his brother as a remarkable man who was deeply rooted in service.

“He was pretty incredible,” he told WHO 13’s Katie Kaplan while getting emotional. “Quite a guy, you know?”

According to his obituary, Father Grady was a retired Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. He was born in 1942 in Allamakee County. He retired to Marshalltown in 2012 and remained active in priestly ministry, helping out when needed by churches in central Iowa and at the Iowa Veterans Home, and as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels and reportedly at the Emergency Food Box.

After he fell sick, Father Grady suffered Congestive Heart Failure and was transferred to Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo for advanced treatment, where he passed away.

Father Grady’s passing remains the only death so far, despite the growing number of reported cases.

Marshall County Health Department Director Sydney Grewell said the situation is unprecedented.

“This is something I’ve never experienced. I don’t think this is something that Marshall County has experienced, and I don’t think this is something the state has experienced as well- especially of this magnitude,” said Grewell.

Investigators are now focusing on twelve different cooling towers located on businesses near the heart of town. Grewell said the data has pointed them north of the train tracks toward the courthouse.

“We have seen some trends in the patients that we are seeing, which is why we narrowed the focus to northcentral Marshalltown,” she explained. “Those people have visited the area, traveled to the area, and that’s where our cooling towers are primarily located.”

Cooling towers are essentially “large air conditioning units” that are found on large buildings, she said. Testing consists of taking water samples from each tower and sending the samples to the State Hygienic Lab in Iowa City, where scientists plate on a culture and let the culture grow to look for the bacteria. The process takes time, and the Legionella bacteria is difficult to grow, so it is possible they may never find the source, Grewell said.

Grewell, the department’s only employee, is receiving support from the state and remote guidance from the CDC as the investigation continues.

While it is too late for his brother, Peter Grady said he wishes a stronger effort would be made to find what is causing so many people to get sick.

“We need more medical investigators out there looking,” he said.

Father Grady’s ashes will be buried on Sunday at Cherry Mound Church near the Iowa farm where he grew up. His family said he was not in perfect health, which may have made him more vulnerable to severe complications. His symptoms reportedly started with dizziness.

The CDC advises that anyone experiencing shortness of breath, muscle or chest pain, or confusion should seek medical care immediately. According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, people who are more likely to experience severe illness from Legionnaires’ disease include individuals 50 years and older, those with weakened immune systems, those with chronic respiratory conditions (e.g. asthma, COPD), and smokers.

Symptoms most associated with pneumonia and Legionnaires’ disease include:

-Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea

-Fever

-Cough

-Shortness of breath

-Muscle aches

-Headaches

-Chest pain