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Deadly bacteria in water-cooler
09/03/2007 12:52 - (SA)
Wellington - Health officials in New Zealand warned on Friday that the deadly legionella bacteria could be trapped in the fine filters of office water-coolers.
They revealed that significant levels of the bacteria, which causes Legionnaires' disease, was found trapped in the filter of one of 14 water-coolers in Christchurch Hospital in October.
Local medical officer of health Mel Brieseman told reporters that it was believed to be the first time legionella had been detected in a water-cooler anywhere in the world.
He said nobody had become sick by drinking water from that cooler but the Canterbury district health board thought that a detailed investigation was warranted.
Issues included whether the bacteria was trapped only in fine filters, whether people were at risk only if they drunk a lot of water, and whether the fact that Canterbury water was not chlorinated was responsible for the October discovery.
Brieseman said the findings were being published as a scientific curiosity because office water-coolers and drinking-water filters were not usually checked for legionella.
He said that water filters needed to be changed regularly to prevent a build-up of bacteria.
Legionnaires' disease is generally contracted through the airborne distribution of legionella. The illness, which produces influenza-like symptoms that can lead to fatal pneumonia, was first identified after an outbreak at an American Legion meeting in 1976.
Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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