Ross Jones, Lyn Pope & Richard Bentham Hindmarsh Water Treatment PREVALENCE AND NATURE OF LEGIONELLA CONTAMINATION IN AGED CARE FACILITIES IN AUSTRALIA Ross Jones, Lyn Pope & Richard Bentham Hindmarsh Water Treatment
Review of Data 2013 / 15 Review of data: Water sampling at 124 aged care facilities SA, QLD and NSW November 2013 - October 2015. 757 water samples Legionella by culture at AWQC
Distribution of positive Legionella Counts (cfu / mL)
Distribution of all test results
Legionella species demographic
Percentage of positive sites
Influence of routine chlorination
Summary One third of aged care facilities showed contamination by Legionella species over the past 22 months. Positive results predominantly non-pneumophila Legionella species. Annual disinfection and continuous dosing of chlorine effective in reducing both number Legionella detections and Legionella concentrations. Other interventions such as routine flushing of outlets and good preventative maintenance could further improve on these results. Stagnation, building works associate with positives.