Call soon for strict rules to prevent Legioneers’ death, Ontaras, Outbreak in London
As London, Ontaras, related to the fall from the outbreak of the latest legonaires, is a call for strict rules that help prevent the mass of bacteria from stretching that causes respiratory infections.
On Tuesday, Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) said A potential source of a fatal outbreak It is a cooling tower in summer and Sofina Foods Inc. a year ago.
At that time, there have been six deaths and over 120 infections.
Now, experts are looking at other courts for a blueprint to prevent the return of the disease.
“Is an important place for improvement,” Vincent Brown, Senior Technical Advisor to Magnus, a Quebec-based company, said, which maintains cooling towers in the province and other places. “If there were better protocols, more laws, I think the risk will be very low for the population.”
A part of Brown’s expertise lies in combating Legionela, which involves preventing it from multiplying. He said that Ontario lacks some devices that other provinces have to stop such outbreaks.
Over the last 13 years, Cubec And new Brunswick Introducing new rules for Operation and maintenance Cooling towers after outbreak in those provinces.
Legonela bacteria are not transmitted from the person to another or through eating or drinking. But if the bacteria are arocolized in the air (through air or fans) or blurred, people can breathe and be unhealthy.
MLHU says that bacteria occur naturally in soil and water, and may contaminate and increase in the environment including warm tubs, cooling towers, warm water tanks and parts of the commercial air-conditioning system.
Most of the people who come in contact with Legyonela are not ill, but some people may experience Pontik fever, a light, flu -like disease that usually resolves themselves.
To find the source of this heat outbreak, the scope of MLhu investigation was within six kilometers.
Brown said that Ontario has no binding law to ensure that cooling towers are registered and maintained with rigorous requirements, saying that the current guidelines of Otawa belong to the federal workplaces only.
“I just hope that we move a little more on it. I think something really has to be done to help … without an overboard,” Brown said. “There are some appropriate reforms that can be done in the (Ontario) law, I think.”
In 2022, an outbreak in Oralia, Association of Local Public Health Agencies (Alpha) Asked Ontario government to introduce an essential registry and mandate risk management schemes for operators.
Alpha said that the disease was reduced and there was a possibility of growing an increase in terms of climate change, but the authorities did not agree to meet with the organization to discuss the issue.
The CBC asked the Ontario government if it would consider moving forward to establish rules like them in other provinces, but the Ministry of Health did not respond.
Instead, it issued a statement, while the local boards of health are responsible for monitoring and promoting preventive works to reduce the spread of Legonela … Ministry of Health and Public Health (PHOs) actively monitor Legionelosis in Ontario.
The statement said, “PHO is available to assist local boards of health in potential legionella outbreaks and community settings, including tests, cases and outbreak management information.”
Mlhu says, policy changes require
Joan Keron, Associate Medical Officer of MLhu’s health, said that the health unit operates a voluntary cooling towers registry and provides the operators to help the operators to maintain their system. However, Cairon said, MLHU does not have the right to make rules compulsory for operators.
“We are working with the city (London) to understand how we can make a list in the future, however, it requires policy changes, possibly in the municipality and also at the provincial level.”
Yaves Legar, a medical officer of New Breanswick’s health, said that the new rules are helping in the fight against legionaires disease.
“With the registry, now we are able to identify all cooling towers in a specific area, which will help with the investigation, it must be required,” the leg said. “We (also) want to prevent these outbreaks from being first to prevent and stop. The aspect of the rules is really focused on ensuring that to maintain towers, to monitor the towers, including regular sampling for legionela.”
Cairon stated that outbreak in London is still active, and the possibility of a long incubation period of bacteria means that there will be more cases in the next two weeks.
