More than 120 cooling towers in Sydney’s CBD have been inspected and sampled after six mystery cases of Legionnaires’ disease were identified in the area.
The six cases, two women and four men ranging in age from their 40s to 70s, independently visited locations between Elizabeth Street, Clarence Street, Park Street and Martin Place within 10 days prior to their onset of symptoms.
All were admitted to hospital for treatment of their pneumonia. One person has since been discharged.
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While they had all spent time in the CBD area, no single source has been identified and anyone who has been in the Sydney CBD area in the past fortnight has been asked to monitor for symptoms of the disease.
While NSW Health says it’s possible the cases are unrelated, environmental health officers working with the City of Sydney have inspected and sampled 124 high priority cooling towers in the area as a precaution.
“Microbial sampling results are expected later this week, to determine if any of these towers are a potential source of the infection,” health authorities said.
The owners of six towers have also been directed to undertake immediate measures to rectify identified defects.
Legionnaires’ disease is often associated with contaminated cooling towers of large buildings, and NSW Health explained “people can be exposed to the bacteria if contaminated water particles from the cooling system are emitted into the air and breathed in”.
“Routine testing of cooling towers helps identify contamination early and allows for prompt cleaning and corrective actions.”
Symptoms can develop up to 10 days from the time of exposure to contaminated water particles in the air and include fever, chills, a cough and shortness of breath and may lead to severe chest infections such as pneumonia.
Legionnaires’ disease is diagnosed by chest x-ray and a urine test and usually requires antibiotic treatment in hospital.
It cannot be spread from person to person.
For more information about water cooling systems management contact your local Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055 or visit the NSW Health website. For more information on Legionnaires’ disease visit the website here.
