Laws No Protection Against Bug
The Age
Friday July 10, 1998
Systematic cleaning failed to prevent Legionnaires Disease bacteria developing in two cooling towers potentially linked to a fatal outbreak in Moonee Ponds.
Victoria's chief health officer, Dr Graham Rouch, said inherent design difficulties in such towers meant the disinfection and maintenance regime dictated by law could not guarantee protection from the bacteria.
Dr Rouch also urged any people who had visited the Puckle Street shopping centre in the past 10 days and developed flu-like symptoms to see their doctor. He stressed there was no danger in visiting the area.
A 53-year-old employee of the Australian Tax Office in Moonee Ponds remains in intensive care fighting the disease which, on 30 June, killed a 73-year-old Essendon woman who shopped in Moonee Ponds. Another woman, 67, who shopped in the area has recovered and been discharged from hospital.
The bacteria were found in an air-conditioning cooling tower in the Australian Tax Office building - where about 1000 people worked - in Moonee Ponds and in the cooling tower of business nearby, Caseready Meats. A broken fan in the cooling system at Caseready might have contributed, Dr Rouch said. Neither business had been positively linked to the outbreak. Both appeared to have followed the cleaning regulations in a ``systematic and conscientious way".
Test results were not back from three other air-conditioning towers tested in the area, but decontamination procedures had been recommended as a precaution.
About 3per cent of the state's air-conditioning towers were infected with the bug, Dr Rouch said. Before the maintenance laws were introduced, that figure was 40 per cent.
Dr Rouch said design problems made cooling towers particularly difficult to clean. Also, organisms could shield the bacteria from cleaning or anti-rust measures could block the bacteria-fighting chemicals. The cleaning regulations did not need to be updated and were ``as good as we can probably make it ... People really have to be very meticulous in this area".
Legionnaires Disease was passed on by inhaling fine droplets of water sprayed from air-conditioner cooling towers.
``It's a lottery, let's face it ... most of (the droplets drift) totally harmlessly up into the atmosphere and die long before they can get to your breathing zone, but if the wind just catches the droplets and carries them in your direction you're the unlucky one," Dr Rouch said.
Legionnaires Disease was marked by progressive worsening of flu symptoms and lung problems, with victims suffering shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or coughing. Victims needed hospital treatment, often requiring life support system.
There have been 33 cases of Legionnaires Disease in Victoria so far this year - mainly in the city and north-western suburbs - resulting in five deaths. There are usually 20-40 cases a year in Victoria.
UNDER SCRUTINY
* Legionnaires disease
Symptoms: Headache, fever, chills, muscle aches, shortness of breath
At high risk: Males over 50, heavy smokers, heavy drinkers, diabetics, sick people.
© 1998 The Age