Do you have responsibility for the control of a particular building or facility, either as a manager, an employer, property owner or a landlord? If you do then the UK’s Health & Safety Executive will often refer to you as the duty holder, and you may well have a legal duty to identify and manage any risks that are associated with Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ disease at that facility.
The chances are you may not be familiar with pseudomonas. This is a bacterium that falls into the gammaproteobacteria class. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium that is capable of causing disease in humans – particularly those that may potentially occur in hospitals. These are commonly-known as hospital-acquired infections or, more properly, nosocomial infection
In part one of this article about controlling Legionnaires’ disease in water systems, we looked at the importance of Legionella risk assessments, water safety risk management and the prevention and control of risks in relation to Legionnaires’ disease. There are three further areas you must be aware of if you are responsible for a water system of any kind, either as a landlord or an employer.
Legionella is a form of bacteria that is capable of causing Legionnaire’s disease, a rare but potentially fatal lung infection. While employers should be aware of their responsibilities and the actions required to control Legionnaires’ disease, they are not the only people who may need to be concerned with this subject. The control of Legionella and Legionnaires’ disease in the work place fa
In part one of this article, we explored the need to perform a Legionella risk assessment if you are a residential or buy to let landlord. Here, we will delve into whether you are the best person to perform the legionella risk assessments, and anything else that may be required of you to control the risks associated with Legionnaires’ disease and ultimately comply with the law.
Legionella testing is essential in all kinds of situations where the bacteria may be present. However, testing a water sample is only the beginning. The sooner you find out whether Legionella bacteria is present in your water systems, the sooner you can take appropriate action to deal with it if it is.
Landlords have a duty to make sure anyone renting and staying in their property is safe from any potential hazards that could pose a threat to their health and safety. This applies to all landlords who rent out properties to individuals, and also to those who rent out rooms in hostels and manage housing associations, for example. This article considers the risks posed by legionella and Legionnaire
Few people have heard of Pontiac fever, and yet most are aware of Legionnaires’ disease. It is intriguing therefore to discover that both illnesses are triggered by the same bacteria… called Legionella bacteria.
While Legionnaires’ disease is rare, it is a serious infection. In the UK the fatality rate has hovered around the 12% mark on average when cases occur in the community. However, the actual rate has been anywhere from 9.3% to 15.3%. These figures were taken from a report issued by Public Health England in 2014.
As the UK’s leading legionella risk management experts, Legionella Control International have developed a series of highly flexible City & Guilds accredited online legionella training courses.