H20 Podcast with Graham Mann

Legionella is naturally occurring and is widespread in ponds, rivers and other natural water systems. But when the bacterium enters water systems in the built environment, conditions, such as water temperature, can often favour and encourage rapid growth and can lead to explosive outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) and other related infections.Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of Pneumonia, which causes fatal complications to occur within the human lungs. Any water source producing aerosols should be considered at risk for transmission of Legionella bacteria, including cooling towers, spa and pools, fountains, showers, car wash installations, air conditioning units, misters, humidifiers and many others.In recent years, there has been an increase in cases of Legionnaires’ disease worldwide, with reported incidences of Legionaries’ disease growing at an alarming rate. Between 2011 and 2015 cases of the infection had risen by 42% and Europe saw the largest number of cases ever reported – with an overall