An introduction to legionella and legionnaires’ disease

There are more than 40 species of legionella pneumophila (LP). These species are further divided into serogroups and subgroups. 90% of these species are in Lp serogroup 1.

Conditions for legionella growth

Legionella is naturally occurring and widely found in water.It is difficult to cultivate the growth of legionella in the laboratory.

Legionella bacteria grow rapidly at 35°C in moist, slightly acidic (pH 6.9) conditions when ferric ions and amino acids are present as nutrients.

Precise laboratory procedures are required.

Legionnaires’ disease contraction

People contract legionnaires’ disease when they inhale contaminated droplets of water. These droplets may be the size of three microns or even smaller.

Susceptible groups who are most likely to contract legionnaires’ disease:

·        Smokers

People who frequently consume alcohol

Diabetics

People who take immunosuppressant drugs

People who have cancer, chronic respiratory disease or kidney disease

People aged over 45 years

Men are more susceptible than women with a ratio of (3:1).

ETD’s Online Legionella awareness

To get more information about legionnaires’ disease, you can purchase ETD’s online Legionnaires’ Awareness Course. Follow these five simple steps to get started.

Create a free company account or single user account, selecting the £12+ VAT payment scheme.

Purchase your user accounts using the online Elavon platform.

For company accounts, create your user accounts (using unique usernames) and activate each user by pressing the ‘activate’ button.

Purchase your online training by selecting the courses that you require. Ticking a course will instantly assign it to the user’s account.

Once the courses have been assigned, single users can access the course under ‘my courses’. Company users can log into their account, go to ‘my courses’ and start the training.

If you require any assistance with the online training, then please contact our support team, who will be happy to help.