When proper measures are taken to monitor and control Legionella bacteria, outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease should not occur. However, 2015 saw 15 cases of the disease reported from various locations around the world. To date, five have been reported in 2016.
According to the UK’s NHS, Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from one person to another. Instead, it is caused by inhaling droplets of water that have been contaminated with Legionella bacteria. However, a recent case identified in Portugal bucks that trend
With commercial aviation becoming an increasingly routine part of our every day lives, very few air passengers who embark on a flight ever consider a plane as a vehicle of infection. However, air travel has introduced its own particular hygiene issues such as waste disposal, airborne disease, contaminated food stuffs and the transmission of illness by rodents and flying insects.
December 2014 saw a major outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx District of New York. With 12 cases diagnosed to date, 8 are residents of Co-Op City, the largest cooperative housing development in the world.
A new CDC study reveals that New Yorkers living in poverty are at a higher risk from the potentially fatal bug Legionnaires’ disease. The US based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recently published the findings of a comprehensive nine year study in to the incidence and risk factors associated with Legionnaires’ disease in New York entitled “Legionnaires’ Disease Inciden
The current outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Portugal is now one of the largest ever recorded and is believed to have been caused by legionella contaminated cooling towers at a fertilizer factory at Vila Franca de Xira, about 30 kilometres north of Lisbon. The importance of cooling tower legionella risk management was brought home this week with the news that cooling towers at the Portuguese
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) fourth version of its proposed legionella standards for the prevention of Legionellosis associated with building water systems (Legionella Standard 188P: Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems) has been released for public comment until November 10 2014.
AS/NZS 3666 Part 2 covers air-handling and water systems of buildings, microbial control, operation and maintenance activities.
AS/NZS 3666 Part 1 – Legionella control Australia covers air-handling and water systems of buildings, microbial control, design, installation and commissioning
AS 5059 covers power station cooling tower water systems and the management of Legionnaires’ disease health risks.