Months before the Virginia Department of Health began investigating an increase in cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Chesterfield, the contractor hired to service HVAC units at county schools repeatedly alerted school officials about significant maintenance problems and recommended testing for Legionella bacteria, documents show. The school system has come under fire in recent weeks after… Read more »

Just when you thought it was safe to drink bottled water, a new U.N. report raises concerns about what you may be consuming: tiny particles of microplastics. The just-published 124-page report from the World Health Organization (WHO) is the first major international study to examine the potential human health risks caused by exposure to microplastics… Read more »

A man from Lanarkshire has died from Legionnaires’ disease after returning home from holiday in Bulgaria. John Cowan, from Hamilton, died in June a week after falling ill at the Hotel Kalofer in the Sunny Beach resort. The 43-year-old’s family believe he contracted the airborne bacteria at the hotel and are threatening legal action against… Read more »

In cystic fibrosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a much-feared pathogen. The bacterium easily colonizes the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, leading to chronic infections that are almost impossible to eradicate and are ultimately fatal. Why does P. aeruginosa, but not other common bacteria, thrive in cystic fibrosis lungs? A new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians… Read more »

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (CBS) — Two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been linked to an AmericInn Wyndham hotel in Schaumburg. The Illinois and Cook County departments of public health have launched investigations. Both of the people diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease used the water in their hotel rooms, and also used the hot tub and the pool,… Read more »

Planners were told the proposals for the park will make it a more pleasant stay for visitors. Plans to transform a caravan park and bring it into the 21st Century have been submitted to Scarborough Council. The Cayton Village caravan site in Mill Lane, near Scarborough has new owners who wants to reduce the density of pitches… Read more »

We shower in it, surf it, sail on it and slurp it. Whether it’s coming out of our taps or falling out of the sky, water is an essential, everyday part of human life. As such, it’s no surprise that we have a plethora of amazing words for H2O and the various forms it takes…. Read more »

SAN FRANCISCO —   In a case that dramatized the plight of children detained at the border, a federal appeals court Thursday upheld an order requiring immigration authorities to provide minors with adequate food, water, bedding, toothbrushes and soap. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the Trump administration to an… Read more »

Dogs can sniff out bacteria that is a major of cause of lung damage in people with cystic fibrosis before it takes hold, according to a study. Research found the animals can detect ultra-low concentrations of pseudomonas, the commonest cause of lung infection in the disease. Bio detection dogs have a very high level of accuracy… Read more »