Connection between Cooling Tower and Legionella and How to Control it

Naturally occurring bacteria that is found in water and soil, Legionella is harmless when it is present in small concentrations. However, when they are allowed to colonise freely and thrive in their surroundings, Legionella can become an extreme health risk. The ideal temperatures for the bacteria to colonise are in the range of 35 degrees Celsius to 46 degrees Celsius. This is further accelerated if there is any presence of organic matter, such as algae, for it to feed on. Should the Legionella bacteria ever colonise in the respiratory tract of a human being, it can cause Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ disease, also called Legionellosis is an acute form of pneumonia, which can, in many cases, result in death. Typically, the disease is contracted due to breathing in water aerosols that are contaminated with the bacteria. It can also be contracted when water containing the bacteria is breathed into the lungs because of choking while swallowing, ingesting or drinking.

When a person gets infected, they show the usual symptoms of the flu. These include minor symptoms such as muscle aches and headaches. Within no time, they will move on to more serious symptoms such as chills, diarrhoea, high fever, nausea and vomiting. They will also experience difficulty in breathing, dry coughs and a pain in the chest. Studies show that the drug has a mortality rate of about 30%. Those who are over the age of 50 and have chronic respiratory issues, lung disease, or are heavy smokers and drinker, are at risk, in particular. Moreover, people who have diabetes or weak immune systems, in general, are also at risk.

Cooling Towers and the Legionnaires’ Disease: What’s the connection?

Research has shown that cooling towers, due to the warm water, form perfect breeding grounds for this bacterium to thrive and colonise. They are often investigated and found to be the main source of outbreaks of the Legionnaires’ disease. These outbreaks are always expected, especially during the warmer months. This is because it creates the ideal conditions in the warm water systems. Improved methods of detection have made it easier to spot the increase in the outbreaks; however, it does nothing to stop the infections. It is extremely important to maintain the water systems of a facility and keep them healthy in order to lower the risk of an outbreak. There are several new measures that need to be followed as well, but it is confusing to understand the new laws for an owner, an engineer or a facility manager. One can get complete assistance by approaching cooling tower legionella services for help.

Controlling the Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease

HydroChem is the leader in commercial and industrial water treatment in Australia since 1977. They are experts at the requirements of both the national and state governments and are aware of how the new laws affect managers and owners. The company has set up a website on Legionella Guidelines that one should follow to make sure that they are complying with the laws. It is known to provide the best cooling tower legionella services across Australia due to their experience and expert knowledge.

How Control of The Smallest Of Regulations Can Help Prevent Diseases

The world that we live in today is perhaps the most healthy it has been for humankind; life expectancy is at its highest, mortality rates at its lowest, and we have managed to eradicate hundreds of diseases. Yet, there is still the risk of an outbreak of a bacteria or a virus, which can threaten to cripple societies’ functionality. It is therefore important to put in place certain rules and regulations, along with precautionary measures to stop such outbreaks.

The advantages of putting in place such safeguards are very beneficial, despite the costs that may be involved. It is far better to spend it once than to see a neighbourhood or locality suffer from say, meningitis outbreak and completely halt their productivity and functioning.

One example of such a regulation or safeguard that seems to have paid off was in New South Wales, Australia. The city commission or government decided to put in place certain regulations regarding their cooling towers. This was done so to stop the outbreak of Legionnaires’ diseases.

The regulations began after the area was reporting a number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak resulted in nearly 13 confirmed infections and even the fatality of a person. There were two outbreaks in 2016, namely one in March and one in May. In the whole of the year there were nearly 93 reported cases, and thus, that prompted an intervention from the government.

It began with the NSW health to form a legionella task force, in order to prepare a full framework for new regulations, which would improve the management of legionella risk that comes with cooling tower systems. Prior to the regulations set in place, Legionnaires’ disease cooling towers owners were required by law to notify the local council of their cooling towers. The only issue was that there was no legislation governing the reportage of their management, or even any registrations that were up to date when it came to ownership and maintenance.

The new regulations and safeguards that have been implemented call for registration of all and any cooling towers in the city to local authorities. There will also be monthly testing and reporting of any high bacteria levels in the water system. There is also a development of a risk management plan in place for all cooling tower systems.

These new regulations put in place follow the Risk Management approach and are influenced by regulations that are in effect in Victoria, as per the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008. As well as the Wellbeing Regulations form 2009. The new regulations have helped reduce incidences of Legionnaires’ disease to drastically cut down from approximately 248 cases in 2008 to as low as 65 a year over the last decade. This shows that preventative measures always prevail over any curing measure. The numbers exhibit the effectiveness of such a protocol in place. These are meant to increase the longevity of human lives, thus help each member of society be a productive member and show their value in the long term.