Fountains and water features in public buildings are an often overlooked potential Legionella risk. When combined with other factors, such as a vulnerable or immune compromised population the relative merits of these decorative features needs to be carefully considered.
Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease have been traced to such features within hospitals (e.g. Report of an outbreak at Cudahy Hospital :http://m.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/88227057.html?ua=iphone&dc=smart&c=y) however everywhere water is used in this way presents a potential risk of infection. In many cases the water will not be adequately continuously disinfected to prevent the growth of bacteria and aerosolisation is inevitable. In the example above the feature was being drained and refilled monthly – but it is well known the Legionella live within the biofilm and thus unless the entire feature including any hidden pipework and sump are thoroughly disinfected the bacteria may survive unhindered. Testing surfaces and biofilm() within the system would provide an excellent indicator of the cleaning efficiency during that regular maintainence cycle. Moreover since Legionella bacteria can multiple rapidly in a closed water system without adequate water treatment a high risk facility may want to be testing the water itself on a regular basis to rapidly identify and address any emerging risk. In most cases our Industrial Legionella Test could be used() with minimal modification of the recirculating pipework to provide fast, sensitive results.