Public Health England (PHE) is reporting on an increase in people who have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, a serious lung infection, following their return from the town of Palmanova in Majorca, Spain. This popular holiday resort is located around 20 minutes away from the nearest airport, offering great beaches and many local attractions.
A recent spate of cases concerning patients throughout the EU presenting with Legionnaires’ disease has led to a link between these cases and recent travel to Dubai, UAE. While the number of cases presenting is still very small, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has highlighted the link in a recent epidemiological update issued on their website.
A 63-year-old man who died from Legionnaires’ disease in February this year appears to have contracted it via his garden hosepipe. Stephen Clements began developing flu-like symptoms shortly after using the hosepipe in his garden. He had used the hosepipe earlier in the year, and hadn’t emptied the hose once he had finished using it. It appears the hose sat in the sun for a time, with water st
A guest who stayed at The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire in July has been confirmed to have died from Legionnaires’ disease, according to recent news reports. She is thought to have been in her sixties, and a resident of Merseyside, and passed away in the middle of August. This follows another case of Legionnaires’ disease suffered by another guest of the same hotel earlier in the year.
UK health officials have confirmed over 200 hospital patients throughout England have been infected with a Japanese fungus that has proven to be resistant to drugs. The fungus is known as Candida auris and was first identified in Japan. The fungus is referred to as a Japanese fungus because the first case was found in 2009 in a patient in Japan.
In the UK if you are a business owner, or you manage premises for someone else, you are required by law to assess that business or premises to see whether there is a risk of legionella contamination in your water systems… and your starting point for this would be a Legionnaires risk assessment. However, you might be surprised to learn that some businesses and industries have a greater risk than
A 95-year-old man staying at The Willows, a care facility run by Reading Borough Council, died in 2012 after contracting Legionnaires’ disease. He was staying at The Willows for a short period while recovering from a broken leg, and was set to return home. However, he fell ill while staying there, and later died in hospital after testing positive for the legionella bacteria present in his system
As the risks associated with legionella continues to rise around the world, experts Legionella Control have launched a new course that could help companies save money and maintain compliance. Using their in-depth insight, the company is offering ten practical training modules covering water safety monitoring and maintenance for water systems that firms will be able to sign existing members of staf
UK citizens have recently been asking if it’s safe to visit Dubai following a number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease there. By early April this year, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had received information pertaining to 50 cases of Legionnaires’ disease connected with people who had recently travelled to Dubai. Almost 50% of these cases (24 of them) were repo
Following a spate of significant outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease across the USA health advocates there are now pushing for the implementation of tighter water safety regulations. Health and safety regulations are put in place for good reason – to protect and preserve the health and wellbeing of people. This applies just as readily to minimising the risks associated with water contaminated w