Amid rising concern about the increasing risk of Legionella around the world, plumbers and installers in the UK are being called on to take a more proactive approach to reducing the risk.
The Legionella testing company Hydrosense says that the UK is facing an increased Legionella risk fuelled by climate change and warmer temperatures, providing an ideal breeding ground for Legionella bacteria. It’s estimated that there are between 4,000-6,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the UK each year, killing between 7-12% of all those infected.
In light of this, the company advocates the need for a faster, more agile and more accurate approach to detect the full spectrum of Legionella pneumophila risk, the main cause of Legionnaires’ disease. Lab culture tests take 7-10 days to return results, yet Legionella can double in a day. This large time lag means increased exposure and risk for businesses, employees and the public. Water samples can also get damaged in the transportation process, killing the Legionella inside and increasing the risk of a false negative result.
Greg Rankin, CEO at Hydrosense comments: “The statistics show that the scale and severity of Legionella cases happening in the USA, the UK and Europe are all increasing at alarming levels. There has never been a more appropriate time for businesses, employers, property owners, installers and the like to act and review how they assess, test and control the risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria.”By moving away from the reliance on traditional lab methods, which take up to two weeks to provide results and ignore some dangerous forms of Legionella bacteria, to more holistic testing regimes that incorporate methods that are much faster, and better at detecting even non-culturable bacteria we have a real opportunity to reduce exposure and protect lives.”
