Legionella found in Gold Coast Spa
The Queensland Health Authority has sent out a notification that two visitors to a Gold Coast resort had been diagnosed with legionnaire’s disease which they had contracted after using the resort’s spa bath.
Michael Whitby from the Australian Medical Association Queensland said the legionella bug was readily found throughout the world in the environment, from Antarctica to jet engine oil, but it was most commonly found in water.
Major outbreaks had occurred in Australia such as the Melbourne Aquarium and majority of cases it has been associated with the cooling towers of large buildings that had not been properly maintained.
“They have a lot of metal fragments which provide iron as a substrate for legionella to grow. For legionella to get into your lungs it has to be in very small particle size so you have to actually spray them out of the air-conditioning system forming aerosols that ends up being inhaled,” Dr Whitby said.
The same applies in a spa where the spray created when water is expelled at high pressure forming aerosols which can make them a potential risk.
According to Linda Selvey, Queensland Health Senior Director of Population Health, “the mist provided a perfect avenue for bugs to make their way into lungs.”
“The big issue with spas is that the water is warmer so it provides a nice environment for bugs to live in,” Dr Selvey said. “Secondly, because you’re forcing air through the pipes at reasonably high pressures to get bubbles, you get a mist of water above the spa pool and you actually acquire legionella infection by breathing in the bugs.”
The ideal way to reduce bacterial growth and prevent infection was to empty spa pools once a month and physically cleans the filters and pipes with sanitizer. This physical scrubbing is critical to removing biofilms which can protect the organism during harsh environmental conditions.
There are several types of legionella, but the two that occur most commonly here are Legionella pneumophilia type 1 and legionella longbeachae. To find out if your spa is contaminated with legionella it is best to have the water them tested by Independant Microbiology Consultants which are NATA accredited and are experts in the field.
