LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE

What is it?

Legionnaires' Disease is a pneumonia like illness caused by the Legionella bacteria and can be fatal.

The infection is caused by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated by the bacteria. The disease cannot be passed from one person to another.

Legionella bacteria are found in the natural environment and may contaminate and grow in water systems, including domestic hot and cold water systems. They survive low temperatures and thrive at temperatures between 20 - 45°C if the conditions are right. They are killed by high temperatures at 60°C or above.

Risk Assessments

We hold a Legionnaires' Risk Assessment for all of our properties which are available on request.

Control Measures

Simple control measures will help manage the risk from Legionella and these should be maintained including:

flushing out the water system by running all outlets for at least 2 minutes where the premises have not been used for a while
avoiding debris getting into the system
setting controls so that the hot water is heated to and stored at 60°C
regularly clean, descale and disinfect shower heads
advising us if the hot water system is not heating properly or if there are any other problems with the system
advising us if the cold water system is not running cold