Latest news with #legionella
CBC
24-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Legionella bacteria found at London's Victoria hospital, officials say
Social Sharing Testing of Victoria Hospital's cooling towers has returned positive results for legionella bacteria as local health officials investigate an ongoing Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the city, according to officials at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). LHSC officials say two samples were taken from the hospital's cooling towers and air-conditioning systems on July 16 and 17. It followed confirmation from the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) that the Victoria campus fell within a six-kilometre radius where most cases in the outbreak had been found. In a statement on Wednesday, southwestern Ontario's largest hospital network revealed that the cooling tower samples came back positive for legionella bacteria on an initial screening test. "More testing is now underway to find out if it matches the strain causing the community outbreak," the statement said. "Those results will take approximately three weeks. We want to be clear: this does not mean Victoria Hospital is the source of the community outbreak." LHSC said the risk to patients, staff and visitors remains very low, but individuals who are older, have lung problems or are immunocompromised (have a weak immune system) are at greater risk of serious infection. The outbreak, declared on July 8, has impacted at least 69 people, according to the latest numbers from the MLHU. Two people have since died, and source of the outbreak has not yet been determined. In an interview, Dr, Nadim Khalil, site lead of infection prevention and control at Children's Hospital, said no hospital-acquired cases had presented to LHSC. "The public health unit has been testing different samples to see what could be the source of it, and because of our location at Victoria Hospital, we got tested. We have sent samples from our University Hospital as well, which is going to be much more lower-risk," he said. He added that cooling towers are, "more to help evaporate some of the temperature that's in the building, but not circulate into the air conditioning system." Legionnaires' disease is caused by legionella bacteria, naturally found in water sources like hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, large plumbing systems or parts of air-conditioning systems. Legionella is not transmitted from person to person. If the bacteria are aerosolized or misted into the air (via wind or fans), people may inhale the bacteria and become unwell. Most people exposed to legionella don't get ill, but some may experience Pontiac fever, a mild, flu-like illness that commonly resolves itself. "The challenging thing for us is the cooling towers have to be present to help cool the building, especially during summer, (but) the waters can be a bit stagnant in it because it's not circulating with the rest of the building," Khalil said. "We do have our policies to get the water tested per provincial guidelines as well as treatment. We treat the water twice a year. When we did hear about the outbreak, we treated the water an extra time." Khalil says LHSC treated the water a fourth time to be safe, but says the results came back positive, prompting a chemical cleaning of the towers, followed by a thorough systematic clean. One challenge, he says, is that legionella can be slow to develop — upwards of two weeks on an agar plate. "So they do additional DNA amplification, what we call PCR, to help see if there's any residual bacteria, and that's what came back positive. What that means is still unclear," he said. "We do know a lot of water, if it's going to be tested, can be positive, and we do know, talking to the health unit, almost 80 per cent of samples they've had have tested positive."
CBC
08-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
1 dead, over 40 sick as legionnaires' outbreak spreads in southeast London, Ont.
Social Sharing One person is dead and more than 40 people sick after an outbreak of legionnaires' disease in London, Ont. The Middlesex-London Health Unit, which declared the outbreak, said the cases were reported within the last week. Most of the people with the severe respiratory illness live and/or work within a six-kilometre radius of one another, in the southeast side of the city, officials said. In a statement Tuesday, officials said the health unit is working closely with Public Health Ontario and the Public Health Ontario Laboratories to investigate and try to determine the source of the outbreak. "Environmental sampling of potential sources of legionella is ongoing. Since legionella can be found in many types of cooling systems, the investigation may take time." This is the second outbreak of legionnaires' disease in London since last summer. Last year's outbreak was localized in the city's east end and led to two deaths and 30 total reported infections. "At this time, it is not known whether it [the current outbreak] is the same location as the legionnella outbreak from last year," the health unit said. "However, this is being considered as part of the ongoing investigation." Bacteria found in water sources Legionnaires' disease is caused by legionella bacteria, naturally found in water sources such as hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, large plumbing systems or parts of air-conditioning systems. Legionella is not transmitted from person to person. If the bacteria are aerosolized or misted into the air (via wind or fans), people may inhale the bacteria and become unwell. Most people exposed to legionella don't get ill, but some may experience Pontiac fever, a mild, flu-like illness that commonly resolves itself. Individuals who are older, have lung problems or are immunocompromised (have a weak immune system) are at greater risk of serious infection. Anyone who develops symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath are encouraged to seek medical attention. All business owners and property managers should ensure all cooling equipment is regularly maintained and sanitized as per the manufacturer's instructions. Although masks can decrease the risk of infection, the health unit is not recommending regular community-wide use of them specifically for the prevention of legionnaire's disease, as the public risk is low.
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Reform council spends £5,000 a day on empty office space
A Reform-led council has spent more than £5,000 a day maintaining empty office space, despite the party's promise to crack down on waste. Worcestershire county council's headquarters in Worcester County Hall were closed in June last year following the discovery of potentially dangerous legionella bacteria in the building's water supply. The council relocated to a nearby building but still owns the tainted county hall, which has cost £1,993,545 to maintain over the past year, equal to approximately £5,300 per day. This includes £390,000 spent on a feasibility study – which concluded that the building was no longer needed – and £160,000 on relocating staff and equipment to temporary rented offices, figures show. Annual running costs for the county hall – including utilities, insurance, and maintenance – additionally amounted to £810,783, while cleaning, waste disposal, grounds-keeping and statutory services added another £722,774. Business rates on the vacant building totalled £409,987. Parts of the 49-year-old building on Spetchley Road, Worcester, were also shut in Sep 2023 after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete was found in the roofs. The council, which has been controlled by a minority Reform-led coalition since May, has come under growing pressure to act against the waste. Richard Udall, a Labour councillor, described the massive cost as a 'disgrace' for a building that is 'simply not needed'. He said: 'It's an absolute scandal. Pouring £2 million of taxpayers' money into an empty and unusable building is a disgrace – money which should have been spent supporting public services.' Dan Boatright-Greene, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said: 'Pragmatic decisions need to be taken now. Whether the site is sold or redeveloped by the council itself, demolition appears inevitable.' Zia Yusuf, the former chairman of Reform UK, has led the party's campaign to cut wasteful spending in local government with the creation of the Elon Musk-inspired Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which Mr Yusuf now leads. Doge began auditing councils in early June, targeting Kent county council and West Northamptonshire county council, to find areas where waste could be cut. Worcestershire council's cabinet is due to consider the future of the site at a meeting on July 17. Rob Wharton, Reform UK's cabinet member for finance and efficiency, said: 'A detailed report will be published next week ahead of the meeting. It will set out options for the future use of the site, associated costs, and the steps required for decommissioning. 'We remain committed to transparency and will ensure residents are kept informed as we consider the long-term future of county hall.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council slammed for paying £2m of taxpayer cash on empty offices
Worcestershire County Council has been criticised for spending over £5,000 a day maintaining its empty headquarters, shut last year due to legionella contamination. The 49-year-old County Hall has cost taxpayers nearly £2 million since closure, including £390,000 for a study declaring it 'surplus to requirements.' Councillors slammed the waste, calling for the building's urgent sale or redevelopment to benefit public services. The council cabinet will discuss future plans for the site on July 17.
The Sun
06-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Warning as heat pumps could expose Brits to killer germs under Ed Miliband's green energy drive
FAMILIES will be exposed to killer germs under Ed Miliband's green heating drive, an expert is warning. The danger comes from legionella bacteria in heat pumps, a top adviser to the Net Zero Secretary has suggested. 2 Dr Matthew Aylott, who works in Red Ed's department, said cases were rare. But he added more research was needed to determine a 'disinfection strategy'. His warning came after a scathing watchdog study declared not enough was being done by the Government to reduce the risk of exposure to heat pump germs. The Health and Safety Executive study, seen by The Sun, said: 'There are concerns that these systems are susceptible to microbial contamination because they hold water at lower temperatures.' Heat pumps often keep water at about 50C to save energy. But legionella bacteria thrive between 25C and 45C — so can do so when systems are not hot enough to kill them off. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: 'Red Ed seems determined to complete his mad dash to Net Zero — even if it means exposing Brits to killer germs.' The Department of Energy and Net Zero said: 'There is no evidence of more health-related issues coming from heat pumps compared to boilers.' It comes as Mr Miliband's green agenda faces a further backlash, with households being forced to pay solar farms to switch off on sunny days as the grid cannot cope. For the first time, solar operators such as EDF Renewables and Octopus Energy have been handed payments to reduce output — with the costs added to energy bills, research by the Renewable Energy Foundation revealed. Keir Starmer's deranged drive for Net Zero with eco-zealot Ed Miliband is a threat to UK's national security- here's why 2
