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Legionella Audit
John Herbert
Legionella Risk Assessment
Building systems harbour a particularly dangerous, and potentially fatal
bacteria named Legionella Pneumophila, more commonly known as Legionella. It is
the causative agent for Legionnaires' disease.
Legionnaires' Disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, with a
fatality rate of up 20%. In susceptible persons, the fatality rate
increases dramatically causing death in nearly 50% of cases.
The bacterium responsible was initially identified in 1977,
by the CDC in Atlanta, following a large outbreak at a Bellevue
Stanford hotel, Philadelphia, USA in July 1976.
The disease was named because the group of people primarily affected in
this outbreak were retired American service personnel who were
attending a legion convention.
Legionella is an aqueous organism, it lives in the nature, and
given the opportunity it can infest and breed in your water systems,
including cooling towers, air conditioners, humidifiers, hot water
systems and the like. Given the right environmental conditions
Legionella will rapidly multiply and reach a point where it could
infect you, your staff or the general public.
Why Audit?
Before we delve into the Legionella audit in more detail, why should any business worry about Legionella? There are several good reasons to conduct an Legionella Audit:
Additionally from the business perspective, past experience
has shown, and the evidence is clear, many businesses cease trading
shortly after an outbreak.
Whether you own a large factory, a hotel, or a small
restaurant a Legionella outbreak could cripple your business, and it
may never recover.
Let me quickly cite two examples, a cooling tower caused an
Legionella outbreak, fatalities occurred. A factory was identified as
the source, legal action followed, within a month the factory was
closed.
In another case a decorative water feature in a restaurant,
more than twenty people became ill. The news of the outbreak spread
across the globe. A few weeks later after the premises was declared
safe the owner re-opened his restaurant, however it was too late, the
damage had already been done, and the business closed.
Cooling Tower Audit
Kelcroft's experience and expert advice helps organisations
avoid the trauma of a Legionella outbreak - the primary tool in your
arsenal in the fight against Legionella is the Kelcroft Legionella
Audit.
The Kelcroft Legionella audit is a methodical and system
assessment of your systems in your building creating a risk
model, and if deficiencies are identified providing recommendations for
remedial works. The audit comprises three parts:
Order your Cooling tower audit
Further Information
For further information regarding Legionella Kelcroft's services, call today, our Hong Kong office telephone: +(852) 2335 9830, send us a fax +(852) 2335 9862, or send us an email message