Deadly Legionnaires' Outbreak Hits Scotland
Health authorities in Scotland are urgently trying to find the source of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has left one man dead and 15 other people critically ill in hospital. The health board of NHS Lothian said the patient who died at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh was in his 50s and had been suffering from underlying health problems. Another 13 men and two women aged between 33 and 74 remain in a critical condition in hospitals in the Lothian area. One man has been discharged after recovering. A further 10 men and five women are also being treated in hospital - but their illnesses have yet to be confirmed.The majority of the confirmed cases are linked geographically to the Dalry, Gorgie and Saughton areas in the southwest of the Scottish capital.
Sky News Scotland correspondent James Matthews, reporting from the affected area in Edinburgh, said more than a dozen industrial cooling water towers at several sites are being examined to see if they are the source of the outbreak. "Samples have been taken from 16 separate towers at four different industrial sites. "They will be cultured, but that will take days to find out which cooling tower is to blame – if indeed a cooling tower is to blame."It has been confirmed that one site under health authority surveillance is a distillery, part-owned by drinks giant Diageo. CEO Paul Walsh told Sky News: "This is a very, very tragic situation… we will co-operate in every and any manner in which we can. "There are a number of sites being inspected, protocols are being reviewed, tests are being made, and that has been ongoing for a number of days."
Nicola Sturgeon, the Health Secretary in Scotland, is set to chair a meeting of the Scottish government's resilience committee - and she will be updated on the situation and on efforts to identify the source at 3pm.
Dr Duncan McCormick, consultant in public health medicine and chairman of the incident management team at NHS Lothian, said: "I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of the patient that died. Dr McCormick urged people to contact medical staff if they became unwell. "There is no need to stay indoors. The main thing is to be aware of the risk to yourself, based on your other underlying conditions, and if you become unwell to contact the GP or NHS 24. "Overall, I can assure people that you can go out of doors and, for the vast majority of the population, the risk is very low."
The health board has said Legionella bacteria is commonly found in sources of water, such as rivers and lakes - but it can end up in artificial water supply systems, including air conditioning systems, water services and cooling towers. The investigation by officials is being led by the City of Edinburgh Council's Environmental Health Department and the Health and Safety Executive.Those responsible for maintenance at the cooling towers have been advised to carry out additional chemical treatment to the water in the cooling systems as a precautionary measur. The health board said other possible sources were not being ruled out. The first case was identified on May 28 but came days after the disease was active. Matthews said: "They reckon the outbreak goes back to May 14, two weeks before the first case was presented to health officials."
Dr McCormick added: "I would like to reassure the public that household water supplies are safe and that Legionnaires' disease cannot be contracted by drinking water. But he warned: "Older people, particularly men, heavy smokers and those with other health conditions, are at greater risk of contracting the disease. I would urge anyone who develops symptoms of Legionnaires' disease to contact NHS 24 or their GP."
YOUR COMMENTS
Posted by: OOBUC5 from yeovil gb on June 6, 2012 9:52 AM
I caught this condition when i was working for a very large air condition company ,i caught mine working at an N.H.S hospital in the 80s ,they said it was not contaigous but i was put in isolation and they all wore masks .if you die the doctors pass you off with pneumonia , hospitals and companies are saving money by not servicing or checking the units, i was told not to change all of the filters in the unit ,with the recession and warm weather coming there will more cases,having had the condition and heard the doctors on sky news i was shocked to see the doctor left out photophobia when they were asked to list the symptoms. As for the search for the cause they only ever give a rough area because it may be a government building and they will get sued so you end up with a vaugue statement from the D.O.E ,THEN IT FADES AWAY
Posted by: OOBUC5 from yeovil gb on June 6, 2012 10:10 AM
Missing information from the above list is you catch it from AIR CONDITION UNITS LIKE IN HOSPITALS ,and the missing piece in the doctors description of symptoms was PHOTOPHOBIA ,HE ALSO SAID MILD HEADACHE i had this condition i know what it was like ,he also left out when you are laying down and go to get up you are prone to black out ,its like being hit with a sledge hammer . most doctors brush it off as flue and im not suprised if they dont know the symptoms ! they also tell you its not contagious but you get put into isolation and they all wear masks ,its air born ,you breath it in so what it dont get out when you exhale ?
Posted by: OOBUC5 from yeovil gb on June 6, 2012 10:13 AM
First place to check is the hospitals ,believe me i worked in air con and they dont like paying for aircon checks ,ask your hospital when was the last time it was checked and can you see the paperwork ,good luck with that one .
Posted by: Billy17 on June 6, 2012 12:49 PM
I worked in building services on HVAC plant for years, and I concur with those of the same experience. Cutbacks have led to HVAC plant not being serviced properly, and I don't mean filter changes, I mean disinfection of drip trays and cooler matrix coils has to be done. If Legionella bacteria is present in the above and chances are it will be, it is then introduced as an aerosol in the airstream of hospital HVAC/ventilation plant where room air changes can be anything up to 20 changes an hour, infecting those within that are SUSCEPTIBLE to respiratory infection, normally senior citizens. It's part of HSWA legislation and often overlooked.
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