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
A new report published by Public Health England titled “Legionnaires’ disease in England and Wales 2013” has highlighted the disproportionate number of cases of this potentially deadly bug affecting Londoners. During 2013 London recorded over 20% of all cases of Legionaires’ disease, however, the potential for a problematic outbreak of the disease in the city has been highlighted before
In our recent article, ‘HSG220 Health and Safety in Care Homes and Legionella Control’ we wrote about the importance of legionella control in residential care homes for the elderly. Many of the residents of such homes are considered as being in the highest risk group to contract Legionnaires’ disease, and now following the publication of Public Health England’s report titled ‘Legionnaire
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.
June 2014 saw the release of the second edition of the Health and Safety Executive’s HSG220 ‘Health and Safety in Care Homes’ document. HSG220, as its title suggests covers a range of health and safety issues encountered in the operation and management of care homes, including a dedicated chapter on the control of legionella.
An international team of scientists have identified specific proteins that protect Legionella bacteria from being destroyed by the human immune system, opening the door to the development of new anti-legionella drugs. Scientists at Spain’s CIC bioGUNE (the Basque Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences), in conjunction with Barcelona’s SuperComputing Centre and the United States’ Nati
Researchers in Japan have identified dishwashers as a source of Legionella bacteria that resulted in the contamination of two tap water sources in a hospital. During a routine inspection of the hospital water services carried out in 2011, Legionella bacteria were identified. Two follow-up investigations were conducted to determine if this contamination was simply a rare one-off or was a more wides
If you are involved in the care home sector it is vital that you understand the dangers associated with Legionella bacteria and the potentially fatal consequences of Legionnaire’s disease that it can cause. Care homes cater for some of the most vulnerable members of our society, many of whom are at a higher risk of contracting Legionnaires’ disease. WIth a number of recent prosecutions by the He
Landlords and property owners face hefty fines if they fail to comply with the latest legionella legislation recently updated by the Health & Safety Executive. The revised legislation deals with the control of risks associated with legionella, a water-borne bacteria, which although rare, can have serious and often fatal consequences if it develops into Legionnaire’s disease. With the help of spe