How long does legionella take to grow

Legionella Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Factors That Lead to Legionella Growth. Related Links. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.

However, legionella bacteria can multiply in water systems made by humans, such as air conditioners. Although it's possible to get Legionnaires' disease from home plumbing, most outbreaks have occurred in large buildings, perhaps because complex systems allow the bacteria to grow and spread more easily. Also, home and car air conditioning units don't use water for cooling.

Most people become infected when they inhale microscopic water droplets containing legionella bacteria. This might be from the spray from a shower, faucet or whirlpool, or water from the ventilation system in a large building. Outbreaks have been linked to:.

Besides by breathing in water droplets, the infection can be transmitted in other ways, including:. Not everyone exposed to legionella bacteria becomes sick. You're more likely to develop the infection if you:. Legionnaires' disease can be a problem in hospitals and nursing homes, where germs can spread easily and people are vulnerable to infection. Outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease are preventable, but prevention requires water management systems in buildings that ensure that water is monitored and cleaned regularly.

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. In hospitals and healthcare environments the water return temperatures should be at least 55 degrees Celsius.

Similarly, cold water supplies should never go above 20 degrees Celsius. Again, the idea is to ensure all supplies remain outside the danger zone. Thermal disinfection involves keeping the cold water below 20, and the hot water hot at a minimum of 50 degrees Celsius 55 degrees Celsius in healthcare. If this is achieved, the risk of Legionella bacteria having the opportunity to grow and spread in a water system will be significantly reduced.

Our teams of water safety specialists support those responsible for the control of waterborne pathogens including Legionella bacteria in the workplace, helping them to protect their people and meet their health and safety obligations in this specialist area.

If you have questions about any of the issues raised above or you would like to speak with one of our legionella specialists please call us today on 36 87 or contact us here. This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. As a result if you have water on your site, you will need to carry out a Legionella risk assessment to identify the level of risk. Ask yourself, does the Health and Safety at work Act Apply to your situation?

Even in a brand new building! Legionella Facts and FAQ 17 — If the legionella risk assessment identifys a low or negligible risk, you may not need to do anything else apart from review the risk assessment every two years. However if there is a foreseeable risk of legionella infection then a control scheme will be required to manage the risks.

However, for a basic domestic system the control scheme need not be complicated. Legionella Facts and FAQ 18 — A good health and safety risk assessment will normally define the requirement for a full legionella risk assessment to be conducted. The health and safety risk assessment will highlight all the likely health and safety risks in the workplace. However, the health and safety risk assessment will not normally actually assess the risks of legionella and it will not provide a site specific control scheme or schematics required to provide adequate cover for your organisation.

A fully HSE L8 compliant risk assessment will still be needed in most cases. Legionella Facts and FAQ 19 — If your legionella risk assessment identifies a low or negligible risk, then a simple review of the assessment will be required at least every 2 years.

If a reasonably foreseeable risk is identified a programme for continual monitoring and control may be required and remedial actions may also be required to find an engineered solution to manage or eliminate the risk. Legionella Facts and FAQ 20 — There are numerous measures that can be adopted to create water systems in the built environment that are hostile to the growth of legionella.

Most traditionally, temperature is used to control legionella. Wherever possible, temperature should be the initial line of defence used to control legionella growth in a system.

Stagnation: Stagnation can be prevented by introducing routine flushing programmes and reducing the volumes of stored water. Chemical control: At Aqua Legion we see the use of chemicals as the last line of defence, and we will always explore the fundamental measures for control and management before embarking upon or recommending any chemical treatment programme for domestic systems.

Legionella Facts and FAQ 21 — The control scheme and level of monitoring depends on the water systems and services located on your site. Typically, in a standard London based office space or building, with a basic domestic water system, a programme of routine temperature checks and 6 monthly and annual inspections will be required including an annual review. Further to this any infrequently used water services will need to be flushed on at least a weekly basis and any shower heads and spray taps should be cleaned and disinfected on a quarterly basis.

Legionella monitoring will not normally be required in a typical office environment, however there are many circumstances where sampling is advocated for examples where temperatures cannot be controlled within the desired range. Furthermore, legionella sampling will demonstrate that the control scheme is working effectively and will provide employers with documented evidence of the quality of water at their sites.