Legionella
E-news -- 20
November 2000
Legionella
E-news, 20
November
2000
HC
Information
Resources
Inc.
Matthew R.
Freije,
Editor
**IN
THIS ISSUE**
1. Two
major
outbreaks in
Spain
2. Sharp
rise in
reported
cases
coincides
with
increased
patient
surveillance
3. Free
article on
ozone
treatment in
cooling
towers
4. Recirculating
hot water in
homes
5. The
first rapid
field test
for
Legionella
(Advertisement)
1.
TWO MAJOR
OUTBREAKS IN
SPAIN return
to contents
list
Galicia
-- 28 cases,
3 deaths: 28
cases of
Legionnaires'
disease were
identified
in Galicia,
Spain
between 18
September
and 1
October
2000--21 men
and 7 women,
ranging from
30 to 79
years of
age. Three
have died.
An
epidemiologic
study
confirmed
that living,
working, or
walking in
the area
near a
particular
hospital was
associated
with
illness.
Investigators
are focusing
on the
hospital
cooling
towers but
no source
has been
implicated.
Source:
Eurosurveillance
Weekly, 26
October
2000.
Reported by
Xurxo
Hervada,
Servicio de
Información
de Saúde
Pública, Dirección
Xeral de
Saúde
Pública,
Galicia.
Spain, and
Rosa Cano,
National
Center of
Epidemiology.
Madrid.
Spain.
Barcelona
-- 40 cases:
40 cases of
Legionnaires'
disease were
identified
in Barcelona
from 14-16
November.
The victims
range in age
from 38 to
92. As of
Friday, 17
November,
four
patients
were in
serious
condition.
All the
victims live
in
Barceloneta,
a
neighborhood
on
Barcelona's
Mediterranean
waterfront.
City health
officials
are
investigating.
Source: The
Associated
Press.
2.
SHARP RISE
IN REPORTED
CASES
COINCIDES
WITH
INCREASED
PATIENT
SURVEILLANCE
return
to contents
list
A record
number of
Legionnaires'
cases was
reported to
the European
Working
Group for
Legionella
Infections (EWGLI)
in 1999,
according to
a recent
issue of
WHO's Weekly
Epidemiological
Record. 2136
cases were
reported in
1999,
whereas 1442
cases were
reported in
1998, and
1360 in
1997. The
large
increase is
due in part
to national
surveillance
schemes
recently
established
in some of
the
reporting
countries.
Denmark has
consistently
reported
more cases
(relative to
population)
than any
other
country,
which may be
because it
carries out
high levels
of testing
for
Legionella
in patients
with
pneumonia
and has a
centralized
reference
laboratory
for
diagnosing
and
reporting
cases.
Source:
Eurosurveillance
Weekly, 2
November
2000
3.
FREE ARTICLE
ON OZONE
TREATMENT IN
COOLING
TOWERS return
to contents
list
"Ozone Treatment for Cooling Towers: New Energy and Water Saving
Technology to Reduce Cooling Tower Operating Costs" was produced for the
US Department of Energy by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
4.
RECIRCULATING
HOT WATER IN
HOMES return
to contents
list
When
building a
new home,
consider a
plumbing
system that
recirculates
hot water
continuously.
Tiefenbrunner's
group found
that homes
with hot
water
recirculation
systems were
less
susceptible
to
legionellae
growth than
were homes
without them
(Tiefenbrunner,
F., A.
Arnold, P.
Dierich, and
K, Emde.
"Occurrence
and
Distribution
of
Legionella
pneumophila
in Water
Systems of
Central
European
Private
Homes."
In: Barbaree,
J. M., R. F.
Breiman, and
A. P. DuFour,
eds.
Legionella:
Current
Status and
Emerging
Perspectives.
Washington,
D.C.:
American
Society for
Microbiology,
1993;
235-238).
The
installer
must extend
the
5.
THE FIRST
RAPID FIELD
TEST FOR
LEGIONELLA
(ADVERTISEMENT)
return
to contents
list
Binax
introduces
the Equate
Legionella
Water Test,
the first
rapid test
to deliver
results in
under an
hour. Equate
detects
Legionella
********************************************************************
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2000, HC
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THANK
YOU!
Matt
Freije
HC
Information
Resources
Inc.
http://hcinfo.com
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