by Brianna Crandall — September 21, 2015—The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recently announced the release of its new guideline on Legionella in building water systems. This technical document for industry professionals is an expansion of information provided in AIHA’s publication, Field Guide for the Determination of Biological Contaminants in Environmental Samples, 2nd edition.
“Other guidelines and standards are targeted at industry guidelines,” said Brian G. Shelton, MPH, one of the report’s authors. “We came at this from a public health standpoint. This is the first guideline that takes a new, preventive approach, based on proven industrial hygiene principles, to controlling the spread of Legionella.”
Legionella is a bacterium that can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a serious respiratory illness that can result in life-threatening pneumonia and can be fatal for people with pre-existing medical conditions, explains AIHA. People become infected with Legionella by inhaling the mist from water sources where the bacteria thrive, which can include the potable water systems of homes, hospitals, and hotels.
In recent years, incidence of Legionnaires’ disease has increased substantially nationwide. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’ (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the incidence of Legionnaires’ in the general population rose 320 percent over 10 years, from 0.42 per 100,000 in 2001 to 1.36 per 100,000 in 2011. In New York City alone, reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease rose from 216 in 2011 to 300 in 2013, according to MMWR, a 38 percent increase in two years.
Most recently, public health officials launched an investigation last month into an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the South Bronx section of New York City, which had sickened nearly 100 people and claimed the lives of 10 as of the release of the report.
The editors of AIHA’s new guideline recently published an article in The Synergist, “The New Age of Legionella,” that characterizes Legionnaires’ disease as “the most lethal building-related illness associated with water-borne bacteria.”
“It appears that public health officials see only the tip of the iceberg and investigate only those cases determined to be part of an outbreak,” the article states.
“Legionella: What Do We Need to Know?” is another informative article on the spread and prevention of Legionella published in The Synergist in August.
The new guideline, Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Legionella in Building Water Systems, available for purchase from AIHA, offers guidance for industrial hygienists and other occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals on assessing building water systems before disease occurs.
