The Middlesex-London Health Unit is investigating a cluster of legionnaires’ disease cases that broke out in a neighbourhood in south-central London.
Dr. Alex Summers, the associate medical officer of health at the MLHU, says the health unit deals with roughly six cases a year, but recently, six cases were reported within two and a half weeks, and all within the same geographic location.
Summers says the bacteria is incredibly common in the environment and is harmless most of the time, but “periodically, it can end up contaminating something like a cooling tower or a fountain; something that makes water airborne, and people breathe it in and can get sick.”
Legionnaires’ disease is a respiratory infection, according to Summers.
“It’s caused by the bacteria legionella, and it typically affects people who have an immunocompromised state — those who are a little bit older, or those who have an immune system that doesn’t function as it ought to.”
Those who contract the disease often fight fevers and have difficulty breathing, and can be diagnosed with pneumonia.
Serious cases involve hospitalization with days to weeks of recovery.
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According to Summers, the bacteria are attracted to places that are damp and moist such as mud and ponds, as well as any type of water source.
“There’s nothing in particular that the public needs to do.”
Summers says a complicated aspect of disease is that it can be difficult to link a case to the source.
“It requires good environmental samples and good samples from people who are sick and trying to link that up,” Summers tells 980 CFPL. “And that often doesn’t happen.”
Regardless, Summers says even if a common source remains a mystery, the health unit will continue to investigate potential sources in the area and act to ensure the risk is minimized.
All six of those infected with the disease have recovered, according to Summers.
—With files from Scott Monich