While going through news or the internet, we must have heard about the legionella and Legionnaires’ disease. Well, Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia that is fatal and is usually spread by inhaling airborne water droplets. If these water droplets are containing viable Legionella bacteria then you’re at risk of Legionnaires’ disease. These bacteria can also cause extrapulmonary infections and Pontiac fever. Therefore, there’s a great need for Legionella Control in order to prevent this disease.
According to the experts, this Legionnaires’ disease doesn’t spread to other people. But, in some rare cases, this might be possible. Legionella bacteria mainly occur naturally in freshwater bodies such as lakes and streams. But the main concern starts when this bacteria starts growing in the water systems of buildings. For the prevention of the spread of these bacteria, water systems in the buildings need to be properly taken care of.
Source Of Growth Of Legionella Bacteria
Before taking serious actions or preventive measures, we need to understand the source of these bacteria. There’s a risk of legionella if:
- If the water system re-circulates or stores the water
- The water temperature of the water system ranges between 20–45 °C
- There’s also a risk of growth if it contains a source of nutrients like organic matter or rust for the growth of organisms.
- If there is a spread of breathable droplets
Preventive Measures
There are different preventive measures that should be kept in mind for Legionella Control in the water system. Let’s get a bit deeper by following these pointers in a brief manner:
The Temperature Control Method
This is known as the primary way of controlling the risk growth of Legionella bacteria. All the water services need to be operated at a certain temperature that’ll prevent the bacteria’s growth. In addition, there is a need for storage of the water at 60°C or above in the calorifiers.
Secondly, make sure that the cold water is stored as well as distributed at a temperature that is below 20°C. This practice needs to be done in all the water systems of different establishments. Thirdly, if there’s hot water then it needs to be distributed at higher means more than 50°C.
Additional Control Method
Apart from temperature Legionella Control, other methods that can be utilized is the silver & copper ionization. You can also go for the biocide treatments to make sure that water is effective and safe to be used.
Legionella bacterial growth can be very serious for health, thus, there’s a need for the utilization of temperature control and biocide treatments. These preventives measures should be implemented to prevent bacterial growth.
