Prevention & Control of Legionnaires’ Disease at Workplace

It is mandatory for every employer to ensure hygiene, sanitation, and over health metrics are optimal and checked green at workplaces. It doesn’t matter whether the concerned workplace is a lavish building of a multinational company or a small family-run business. After all, if there is any health concern, everyone will be at risk with no biasing. According to WHO, NHS, and other healthcare organizations around the world and in the UK, most working people suffer from infectious diseases due to lack of health policies at the workplaces.

Out of these diseases, the Legionnaires’ Disease often tops the survey results. Considered as one of the fatal forms of pneumonia, it can easily turn into the shape of an epidemic despite the disease being non-communicable. This is because the bacteria causing the disease spreads through tiny air droplets in the air and it’s hard for people to prevent inhaling the contagious moisture. As a result, preventing and controlling the infection and Legionella bacteria treatment is one of the main priorities of every employer.

What are the risk factors of Legionnaires’ Disease at workplaces?

First of all, it is mandatory to understand the risk factors of not controlling and preventing Legionella bacteria from thriving nearby any workplace. This will provide a crystal clear picture of how health conditions are threatened at different work areas.

1. The bacteria causing Legionnaires’ Disease has an incubation period of ten days maximum. As a result, it is hard to determine if the person is infected and the water pipelines and source system need to be evaluated further. This generally causes a delay, thereby exposing people to the contagious water system and increasing the chances of an epidemic breakout.
2. Studies have proven that the mortality rate of Legionnaires’ Disease is much higher than regular pneumonia. If the person infected with the bacteria fails to receive treatment on time, it can prove to be fatal to his life. Therefore, the risk level of Legionnaires’ Disease is pretty high at workplaces.
3. Since a workplace has integrated and complex water pipeline systems and multiple supply sources, the risks of infection increase further. This is because the infestation of bacteria can be present at multiple locations and treating them simultaneously is cumbersome and requires intensive efforts.
4. As people have different immunity power and susceptibility levels, it is hard to rule out those who are unlikely to get infected.

What leads to the growth of Legionella bacteria at workplaces?

It is crucial to know the major conditions that facilitate the growth of the Legionella bacteria around and inside a workplace. This is because eliminating these conditions is a major step towards prevention and control of this disease. So, considering this, the below pointers will explain how the bacteria can grow in water even when hygiene practices are kept optimum.

1. Ideally, the water temperature facilitates the growth of the Legionella bacteria easily. If the temperature is maintained within a range of 25 degrees to 40 degrees for a prolonged time, the germ can easily thrive and grow in colonies.
2. Also, the presence of amoeba in any water is supposedly an indication of the presence of the Legionella bacteria since the protozoa serves as a host.
3. In water sources having a thin film of microbes at the surface, also known as biofilm, you will often find this bacterium.
4. Legionella bacteria can also multiply at a rapid rate in stagnate or standing water, especially when rain and fresh water are stored combinedly.

How can the growth of Legionella bacteria be prevented and controlled?

Identifying growth risks of Legionella

First and foremost, a proper risk assessment study should be conducted. Professionals check all the past documents of assessments, legal rights, water source plants, thermal regulations, filtration and disinfection systems, and many more. Apart from this, they will also conduct an on-site survey to check the water quality index, microbes growing in it, the quality of water source and pipeline system, thermal tanks, and so on.

Some of the major aspects checked during the Legionella risk assessment are:

1. Type and source of water
2. Temperature range of the water at different times of the day
3. Storage method of the water
4. Presence of microbes in the water that facilitate the growth of Legionella
5. Cleaning and water hygiene solutions implemented

Installation of appropriate temperature regulator and monitoring system

One of the best ways to prevent and control the growth of Legionella bacteria is through installing advanced and automated thermal regulators and monitors. It will automatically detect the water temperature to notify about slight changes. Once the water temperature crosses the threshold of 25 degrees to 40 degrees, the heating or cooling system will be triggered accordingly. This way the water temperature can be controlled and monitored with maximum precision and no human intervention.

Proper hygiene regulations

It is crucial for every workplace to follow appropriate water hygiene solutions. Below are a few examples:

1. Water tanks, filtration units, thermal tanks, and other such areas must be cleaned thoroughly and sanitized at least twice a week.
2. Storage of stagnant water should be strictly prohibited. Even if water is stored as a part of a rainwater harvesting project, proper disinfectants must be used.
3. The source of water shouldn’t be contaminated.

Call us at WaterHS to know more about prevention of Legionnaires’ Disease

Being one of the best companies offering Legionella bacteria treatment for commercial and industrial settlements, you won’t have to look any further. We not only conduct a thorough and detailed analysis of the water systems but also ensure our prevention techniques can reduce the number of infection cases at workplaces.