Legionella Count
Legionnaires' disease is an infection caused by jegionella bacteria. These bacteria range from mild febrile illness to fatal Legionnaires' disease due to age, disease, immunosuppression, or other risk factors. Water is the most important natural source for legionella bacteria, and these bacteria are found in many different natural and artificial aquatic environments around the world (homes, hotels, ships, water systems in factories, fountains, spa pools and similar environments).To date, the World Health Organization has published the following regulations on legionella risk assessment and management:
• Drinking water quality guidelines
• Guidelines for safe recreational water environments
• Ship health guide
Certain microorganisms and chemicals are periodically evaluated by the World Health Organization and criteria for the protection and control of drinking water quality are determined.
It is accepted that about 20 percent of the cases of legionella disease detected in Europe are related to travel. These cases present a number of problems due to difficulties in identifying the source of infection. Legionella disease is a well-known problem in developed countries, but there is not much data in developing countries.
The control of Legionella mainly focuses on the following factors: drinking water distribution systems, cooling towers, healthcare facilities, hotels, ships, natural spas, jacuzzis and swimming pools.
The legionella count alone is not used to determine whether a positive source is causing the infection. The likelihood of a source causing infection varies depending on the bacterial load, the efficiency of the spread, the propagation path of the bacteria, and the aerosol generating ability of the source.
