Webinar: Legionnaires' disease outbreaks in the UK: True Cases

Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the UK: True Cases (Webinar)

What can we learn from true cases of Legionella outbreaks?

On 2nd July, Darren Evans talked us through some intriguing real life examples of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the UK. What were the warning signs? What went wrong? Who was prosecuted? And importantly, what can we learn?

What is Legionella?

Legionella is a type of water-borne bacteria which can cause Legionnaires’ disease. It is common in the natural environment, and sometimes it is able to get into the mains water distribution and colonise man-made water systems, if the conditions are favourable.

Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease

• Dry cough
• Aches and pains (flu-like)
• Diarrhoea often present
• Fever
• Pneumonia (lungs fill with fluid)
• Delirium
• May get multiple organ failure and death

Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the UK

It is recognised that Legionnaires’ disease is already under-reported in the UK. It is often simply classed as pneumonia without identification of the causative agent. Despite 503 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in 2019 (according to Public Health England), research has estimated that 4,000-6,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease occur every year in the UK. The PHE 2019 figures show that 207 of the reported cases (40 per cent) were contracted overseas.

What can we learn?

Legionella is legislated under:

• HASAW Act
• COSHH Regs
• Management of HASAW Regs
• Worst case scenario, death
• Highly publicised leading to loss of reputation and earnings
• Failure to manage can lead to prosecution
• Fines are based on turnover. Can be unlimited.
• Civil action can take years / decades
• Competency contractors are essential

Missed out?

If you missed our free webinar, don’t worry we’ve got you covered! The live recording is now available to view on our YouTube channel. Register to view below.