Legionella
E-news -- 14
December 2000
Legionella
E-news, 14
December
2000
HC
Information
Resources
Inc.
Matthew R.
Freije,
Editor
**IN
THIS ISSUE**
1. CBS
Evening News
to air
Legionnaires'
story
tomorrow
2. Another
major
outbreak in
Spain
3.
Legionella
associated
with home
plumbing
repairs
4. The first
rapid field
test for
Legionella
(Advertisement)
1.
CBS EVENING
NEWS TO AIR
LEGIONNAIRES'
STORY
TOMORROW
return
to contents
list
CBS
Evening News
with Dan
Rather has
produced a
story on
hospital-acquired
Legionnaires'
disease.
Unless a
major news
event
preempts
regular
programming,
the story is
to air
tomorrow
evening
(Friday, 15
December).
Check your
TV listings
to verify
the program
time in your
area. If you
miss it on
TV, look for
the online
version at http://cbsnews.com.
2.
ANOTHER
MAJOR
OUTBREAK IN
SPAIN return
to contents
list
Last
month we
reported two
outbreaks in
Spain, one
in Galicia
involving 28
cases and 3
deaths and
another in
Barcelona
involving 40
cases, one
of whom has
since died.
Another
major
outbreak in
Spain has
been
reported,
this one in
the Valencia
region. 70
cases were
reported
from 16
September to
8 October
2000 -- 43
men and 27
women
ranging from
20 to 95
years of
age. Two
patients
have died.
The
investigation
has revealed
an
association
with
visiting or
living in a
certain area
of the city,
but the
source of
contamination
has not been
identified.
All cooling
towers in
the
suspected
area were
disinfected.
Intensified
surveillance
is
continuing.
Source:
Eurosurveillance
Weekly, 7
Dec
2000.
3.
LEGIONELLA
ASSOCIATED
WITH HOME
PLUMBING
REPAIRS return
to contents
list
A study
of 146
adults
showed a
higher risk
of
contracting
Legionnaires'
disease
shortly
after home
plumbing
alterations
or repairs
were made
(Straus W.
L., J. F.
Plouffe, T.
M. File Jr.,
et al.
"Risk
Factors for
Domestic
Acquisition
of
Legionnaires
Disease."
Archives of
Internal
Medicine 156
[1996];
1685-1692.).
Repair work
can loosen
biofilm from
piping and
plumbing
fixtures,
releasing
high levels
of
legionellae
into the
water.
Consider
flushing the
system with
hot water
(with the
water heater
at the
highest
setting)
after any
changes to
the plumbing
system,
particularly
if the house
is occupied
by anyone at
high risk of
contracting
Legionnaires'
disease. A
heat flush
procedure
may minimize
the risk by
killing and
flushing the
legionellae
that were
released
during the
repairs.
Source: Home
Plumbing
Systems: How
to Reduce
Your Risk of
Legionnaires'
Disease and
Other
Bacterial
Infections
(http://hcinfo.com/312info.htm).
4.
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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information
on
advertising
in
Legionella
E-news or on
our web
site, e-mail
adinfo@hcinfo.com.
You will
receive an
immediate
auto-reply.
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© Copyright
2000, HC
Information
Resources
Inc.
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THANK
YOU!
Matt
Freije
HC
Information
Resources
Inc.
http://hcinfo.com
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