Holiday How to avoid deadly legionnaires bugs

New research has revealed that popular holiday destinations may put Britons at risk of a serious bacterial infection that can lead to life-threatening pneumonia.

Scientists have discovered that two-thirds of hotels in destinations such as Greece, the Canary Islands and Morocco are at risk of spreading the infection – called Legionella or Legionella disease – lurking in still water.

Now, microbiologists are urging vacationers to turn on taps and showers before coming into contact with water, as they fear that bugs will accumulate when buildings are closed during the Covid lockdown.

Vacationers are advised to leave the taps open to allow water that may have been infected with Legionnaires’ disease to escape. Scientists fear that bacteria that accumulated in stagnant water may have multiplied during the prolonged Covid quarantine, when many hotels were closed.

It comes months after Lynn Stigwood, 70, from Buckinghamshire, allegedly died after contracting an infection while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.

He was hospitalized in September 2019 after becoming seriously ill with vomiting and diarrhea and developed pneumonia, difficulty breathing and walking.

He developed organ failure and died. Lynn’s husband, 73, Melvyn, returned home with a letter from the travel agency that issued the travel warning for contaminated water at their hotel. In the letter, it was announced that several guests had contracted Legionnaires’ disease. Lynn had taken a shower before she got sick.

Legionella bacteria thrive in large buildings such as hotels and office buildings where it grows in a water source, especially in warm climates where heat helps them reproduce.

Rusty and dirty pools and air conditioning units are common places for contamination as they can collect hot, stagnant water that is dispersed as droplets into the air and then exhaled.

But bacteria can also lurk in showers and faucets that aren’t used for several days. Now microbiologists are warning vacationers to take the necessary steps to protect themselves from the risk of infection. This is especially critical after the pandemic, as some resorts may only have recently opened select hotel rooms as the travel industry returns to normal.

“Shower in your hotel or apartment as soon as you arrive if it’s been unused for a few days,” says microbiologist Dr Tom Makin, an independent hotel and resort consultant on Legionella control. “Get out of the bathroom and let it run for 5-10 minutes. Then hold your breath, go back to the bathroom and turn off the shower before leaving. Wait 30 minutes before using the bathroom to allow the contaminated droplets to disperse. If there is a window in the bathroom, open it and if there is, open the hood.

According to health and safety rules, hot water supply should be kept at a minimum of 50 °C, as the insect cannot survive at this temperature. Likewise, cold water should be below 20°C to stop bacterial growth. Hotels, entertainment centers and large buildings must regularly treat water with chemicals to destroy Legionella colonies. But recent research shows that many don’t. In a report in the journal Travel Medicine And Infectious Diseases, scientists who tested 204 hotels in the Canary Islands, which are visited by 600,000 Brits a year, found that 12% had Legionella bacteria in their plumbing, air conditioning or swimming pools.

A similar study in Greece found that 75% of 51 hotels had pollution in their water supplies. And tests on water samples from 118 hotels in Morocco in September 2021 revealed that more than half had levels of Legionella sufficient to cause illness.

About half of the 300-400 Brits infected with Legionella each year take it abroad. Once the infection is diagnosed, doctors call the condition Legionnaires’ disease.

While the average death rate is around one-tenth, it can reach 30% in people with weakened immune systems, such as patients with rheumatoid arthritis or kidney failure.

Outbreaks are also occurring in the UK. Dr. Makin says that vacationers returning home after the break should repeat their shower routine in case bacteria develop on the shower head. “If the house is empty and no one is using it, take a shower when you get home,” she adds. “The same goes for garden hoses.”

A 2017 study found that nearly a third of water samples from shower heads and bathroom pipes in 100 homes in southern England had traces of Legionella.