The Healthcare Infection Society is inviting comments on the scope for their next NICE-accredited guideline: water management for healthcare microbiologists. If you are a microbiologist or a professional involved in estates, facilities or engineering with responsibility for a water safety group or safety plan, the surveillance of water or wastewater borne infections, or keep on top of… Read more »

Some interesting takeaways from the MMWR report: Legionella was implicated in 98% of biofilm-related outbreaks.Legionella-associated outbreaks generally increased over the study period.Legionella caused 97% of the hospitalizations and 98% of all deaths.Premise plumbing (point of use locations) was the contributing factor in 63% of the Legionella and other biofilm-associated pathogen outbreaks. Read the full report… Read more »

Legionnaires disease (LD) cases rose ninefold between 2000 and 2018, and the reasons for the dramatic global rise have been a scientific mystery. This week, a research team proposed a surprising factor: a drop in air pollution. Read more here.

From 2015 to 2020, the bacteria Legionella caused 184 disease outbreaks in the US, resulting in 786 illnesses, 544 hospitalisations and 86 deaths. Of 214 disease outbreaks over five years, 184 were caused by legionella bacteria. Read more here.

A pensioner from Yorkshire died from deadly legionnaires’ disease after going on holiday to have a break from caring for his adoring wife who had dementia. Read the full article here

An unregistered plumber has received a suspended prison sentence after he carried out illegal gas work at a house in Peterborough. Read the full article here

The Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel has detected #Legionella bacteria in its water system, leading to a health advisory for guests to avoid taking showers. The hotel is working with health officials to disinfect the water system and prevent further growth of the bacteria. The source of the bacteria remains unclear. Read more here.

People who have visited Sydney’s CBD recently have been warned to be alert for symptoms of legionnaires’ disease. NSW Health says 10 people who developed the disease spent time in the city between 15 December and 23 December. But what is legionnaires’ disease, how can you catch it, can it be fatal and what caused… Read more »

A total of 23 deaths linked to Legionnaires’ disease have been reported from Poland as of Sept. 11, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. A total of 166 cases of the disease have been reported, WHO said, adding that no new cases have been reported since Sept. 7. Legionnaires’ disease, caused by the legionella… Read more »

The son of a pensioner who died from scalding injuries in a hotel bath has described the frantic 90-minute attempt to rescue him as a “horror story”. Wallace Hunter died at the Pitlochry Hydro in 2019 after being trapped in the bath, while guests and emergency services tried to smash in the door. Efforts to… Read more »