Alarm in the Rhine Valley: Legionella infections despite strict hygiene!

Alarm in the Rhine Valley: Legionella infections despite strict hygiene!

In the Vorarlberg Unterland, the cases of legionellosis are increasing, while eleven infections have already been reported at the end of January - a number that corresponds to the annual average. The state press office announced that the causes are still being researched. The infections are anything but irrelevant because they are connected to the "Legionella Pneumophila" bacterium, which comes into the lungs via aerosol droplets. This disease can trigger severe pneumonia and flu -like symptoms, of which older people and people with a weakened immune system in particular are particularly at risk. To date, a total of 15 cases have been documented in Vorarlberg, of which eleven come from the lower Rhine Valley, such as Vol.at reported.

transmission and symptoms

Legionella occurs in waters worldwide and multiply particularly well in warm water between 25 and 45 degrees Celsius. A source of infection can represent poorly maintained hot water systems, humidifiers and air conditioning systems. In principle, the bacteria can cause serious respiratory diseases such as the legionnaire disease associated with high fever and shortness of breath. On the other hand, the pontiac fever runs milder and usually heals on its own. The symptoms can vary from slight discomfort to severe feeling of illness, which pharmacy-umschau.de

The State Sanitary Directorate of Vorarlberg has already initiated measures to determine connections between the diseases and to remove samples from possible sources of infection. However, the results of these examinations are only expected in about two weeks, since the breeding of the bacteria and their technical assessment are time -consuming. It remains to be seen whether serious health risks can be derived from this atypical accumulation.