Health Experts Warn Legionnaire's Disease Outbreak Amid COVID-19 Lockdown

Commercial buildings closed up for several weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 could fuel Legionnaires' disease- yet another lung infection. Health experts are warning the public, especially landlords worldwide to carefully re-open buildings in order to prevent the outbreak of the severe and lethal form of pneumonia.

What causes legionnaire’s disease?

The sudden closures of educational institutions, offices, factories, and government offices have created an unprecedented decline in water use. Since there is no water flowing through pipes during the lockdown, alongside temperature irregularities could be favorable for the bacteria that causes the disease. The bacterium thrives in temperatures between 20°C and 45°C and can grow on surfaces inside of pipes.

Reduced availability of maintenance staff and water management engineers can exacerbate the problem. Public health experts warn that buildings should not be reopened without proper care and proactive planning as it could put huge parts of the general population at risk from severe respiratory illnesses.

Hydrosense has developed the world’s first rapid, onsite testing kit for detecting Legionella- a pathogenic group of Gram-negative bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. When diagnosed early, legionnaires pose less health risk compared to COVID-19 and in most cases, it can be cured with antibiotics. Also, the disease doesn’t spread from human to human contact.

Here’s what should be done when reopening buildings post the lockdown:

• Continue usual maintenance practices and weekly flushing of the system should be done
• When normal maintenance tasks aren’t possible, additional control measures should be taken including the use of biocides or other anti-microbial solutions
• Identify where the risk is in your building and give special attention to those areas
• Faucet aerators and other devices that prohibit water flow are the riskiest and should be removed from the system if they cannot be routinely maintained.

“It’s a worldwide problem, one that can be solved with precautions. Most major corporations with consultants are likely to be aware of the stagnant water systems issue, but this is going to be a challenge for smaller retail-style shops, health clubs, and hotels,” Manila Bulletin quoted British microbiologist Susanne Surman-Lee, who co-drafted reopening guidelines for the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.