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Legionnaires’ disease warning to holidaymakers
Holidaymakers are being warned their lives are being put at risk by hotels ignoring the threat posed by killer bug legionella, the cause of legionnaires’ disease.
Checks carried out at hotels worldwide have found that most hoteliers do not understand the dangers associated with the bacteria and have very few procedures in place to monitor and control it, claims hygiene expert Check Safety First.
Legionella bacteria is found in inadequately maintained large-scale water or air-conditioning systems making holiday accommodation the ideal conduit for the infection to spread, according to the independent food safety organisation. Guests can come into contact with it through showering, using swimming pools or spas and operating air-conditioning units.
Legionella is the sole cause of legionnaires’ disease – a pneumonia-like illness which kills as many as one in 10 people who contract it. It predominately affects older travellers, with symptoms including fever, chills, headache and muscular pain which may be followed by breathing difficulties, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Unlike other hygiene related illnesses, the causes of the disease are often difficult for holidaymakers to identify as guests are not privy to the conditions in which the hotel’s water system is managed, according to Check Safety First.
Health Protection Agency statistics show that there has been a rise in the number of cases of legionnaires’ disease suffered by British travellers since 1980, indicating that, despite the risk to guests, many hoteliers are not taking the problem seriously enough.
Check Safety First chief executive Steve Tate said: “The main issue is that hotel health and safety is still in its infancy.
“Many hoteliers continue to focus their efforts on improving the fixtures and fittings and have yet to develop comprehensive health and safety policies to ensure that guests remain as safe as possible during their stay.”
Report by Phil Davies
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