Monitoring, Prevention and Protection

Monitoring systems for the presence of Legionella bacteria is an essential requirement in identifying Legionella risk and showing the efficacy of Legionella management procedures.

Monitoring

It is often said that if you look hard enough for Legionella in a water system then you will find it. Whilst that may be at least partly true, you shouldn’t expect to find Legionella in well maintained water systems. Differences between designs, system histories and local fluctuations in water quality mean that what works well at one location will not always be an effective control process at a different site. Equally a process which has managed to prevent Legionella colonisation for several years may fail to maintain that level of control even following short periods of failure, fluctuation or modification to the design or control process. It is therefore essential that in all but the very lowest risk situations that the water is tested regularly for Legionella. The frequency of monitoring should reflect both the degree of risk, and the ‘stability’ of the conditions.

Prevention

Prevention of Legionella outbreaks requires the rapid identification of Legionella risks and in particular an immediate response to any colonisation of the system. The virulence of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 bacteria makes it all the more important that it is detected, and responded to quickly.

Protection

Legionella problems not only risk the health of your workforce, clients and the general public but also have the potential to significantly damage your business. In a world with brands worth millions or even billions of dollars, and public scrutiny at the highest levels the risk of adverse publicity means that rapid response to Legionella risk not only makes moral sense it makes business sense.