Legionella E-news -- 16 May 2001

**IN THIS ISSUE**

1. Health Officials Release Report on Ford Outbreak

2. New Management Plan for Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens

3. Cooling Tower Regulations in Victoria to be Enforced with Stiff Fines

4. New Legionella Training Course to be Offered in September

5. Adding Sodium Thiosulfate to Legionella Water Samples

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1. HEALTH OFFICIALS RELEASE REPORT ON FORD OUTBREAK

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The 11 May 2001 issue of MMWR Weekly includes a detailed report of the Legionnaires' outbreak that resulted in four cases and two deaths among Ford Motor workers in Brook Park, Ohio. The report is posted at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5018a1.htm.

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2. NEW MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR LEGIONELLA AND OTHER WATERBORNE PATHOGENS

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This brand new document, written by Matthew Freije, is designed to help health care facilities minimize risk and comply with JCAHO EC 1.7. Based on several guidelines and scientific papers, the document outlines what to do and how to do it at the lowest practical cost.  The 64-page plan comes in MS Word so that the user can adapt it fit the needs and preferences of a particular facility. The purchase includes technical assistance (answers to questions about the plan) by telephone or e-mail. For more information, visit http://hcinfo.com/managementplan.htm.

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3. COOLING TOWER REGULATIONS IN VICTORIA TO BE ENFORCED WITH STIFF FINES

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As part of a government program introduced after the Melbourne Aquarium outbreak, all cooling towers in Victoria, Australia -- about 10,000 in all -- must be registered by 1 September 2001.  Details about the system and its owner, operator, and maintenance contractors have to be reported to the Building Control Commission. For new cooling towers, a risk management plan must be submitted before startup. The aim is to improve maintenance and to help authorities track outbreaks more quickly and accurately. The Victorian Government will conduct random inspections to enforce the new regulations. Owners will face fines up to $12,000 for failing to register their cooling towers and fines up to $10,000 for inadequate maintenance standards. Source: www.theage.com.au, 28 April 2001.

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4. NEW LEGIONELLA TRAINING COURSE TO BE OFFERED IN SEPTEMBER

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On 18-19 September 2001, in Baltimore, USA, Matt Freije is to conduct a two-day training course on assessing and minimizing the risk of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens in hospitals and other large buildings. The course is designed to profit professionals that offer services related to water treatment, plumbing systems, cooling towers, indoor air quality, or infection control, and also to benefit hospital personnel, government officials, and facility personnel for industrial plants, hotels, or office buildings. A customized in-house version is also available. For more information, visit http://hcinfo.com/legionellaseminar.htm. Please tell your colleagues!

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5. ADDING SODIUM THIOSULFATE TO LEGIONELLA WATER SAMPLES

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The CDC (US) recommends that water samples contain Sodium Thiosulfate at a concentration of 0.5 ml of 0.1 N solution per liter of sample water in order to inactivate any residual halogen biocide. You can order sample bottles with Sodium Thiosulfate already added, or get the bottles without Sodium Thiosulfate and add it yourself. (The latter option is usually cheaper.) A disadvantage of purchasing sample bottles pretreated with Sodium Thiosulfate is that the Sodium Thiosulfate could inadvertently be flushed out while collecting the sample (e.g., by rinsing the bottle before collecting a sample from an outlet; by dipping the bottle head first into a cooling tower basin). If the bottles are not pretreated with Sodium Thiosulfate, add four drops of the 0.1 N solution to each 250 ml sample, or five drops if the chlorine concentration is greater than 1.0 ppm. CDC tests indicate that Sodium Thiosulfate will not affect Legionella unless the Sodium Thiosulfate levels are very high, so it may be smart to err on the side of too much rather than too little when deciding how many drops to add. However, be aware that the amount of Sodium Thiosulfate added by some bottle suppliers may be too high for Legionella tests. Sodium Thiosulfate (0.1 N) dropper bottles are available from LaMotte Company, PO Box 329, Chestertown MD 21620, USA, tel 800-344-3100 (USA) or 1-410-778-3100, fax 410-778-6394. Ask for Item 6155-E, which costs about US$4.

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(c) Copyright 2001, HC Information Resources Inc.

You have permission to send this newsletter to others, post it on your web site, or include it in listserv posts, under the strict condition that you include the following notice to properly credit the source: "Excerpted from Legionella E-news, a free e-newsletter available at http://hcinfo.com."

THANK YOU!

Matt Freije

HC Information Resources Inc.

http://hcinfo.com