According to recent reports, Pennsylvania’s healthcare-acquired legionellosis cases have trended upward over the past 10 years.
The ACHD (Alleghany County) guideline and the New York regulations recommend selecting and testing a minimum of 10 distal sites, faucets or showers, that roughly represent the water distribution system (i.e., sites on multiple floors and wings, and include high-risk units such as hematology and oncology, transplant, medical/surgical, intensive care, and neonatal intensive care)
Healthcare facilities should consider the following questions to decide whether to install a disinfection system on a drinking water system:
- How extensive is the colonization? (Are >30% of outlets positive?)
- Is Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 present?
- Have cases of healthcare-acquired legionnaires’ disease (definite or possible) been diagnosed?
- Is the facility housing at-risk individuals?
If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then consider disinfection. Finding species other than Legionella pneumophila would warrant continuous disinfection in certain situations.
More than one method can be used to disinfect drinking water systems:
(1) chemical disinfection, such as monochloramine
(2) physical, such as point-of-use filters placed in high-risk units
Barclay Water Management and its Environmental Group can help your facility with all of its Legionella bacteria remediation solutions. Contact Barclay Water Management and let our water hygiene specialists assist you with all your water hygiene questions and problems.
