Legionella shower ban in Munich apartments

Due to Legionella shower ban in 320 apartments

06/07/2012

Legionella are always present in the water, but usually only in low concentration. In Munich, the limit value of the bacteria has now been exceeded so far that the health authority has imposed a shower ban for 320 households due to a possible health risk.

Legionella can cause pneumonia
Despite the summer temperatures, hundreds of residents of the Munich Olympic Village currently have to do without showers. So-called Legionella were detected in tap water at an elevated and hazardous concentration. The pathogens can cause high fever and pneumonia, for example, when water vapor is inhaled while showering and enters the lungs. If contaminated water is drunk, sufferers usually have no complaints to fear.

Normally, Legionella germs can multiply rapidly whenever water stagnates too long in the pipes. The pipelines are now being cleaned in the Munich Olympic Village. They may even need to be replaced. Residents may take a shower only after the concentration of the Legionella has decreased to a harmless level. Last year, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) registered 639 legionellosis cases in Germany.

Legionella are distributed worldwide
In 1976, Legionella were first identified at a veteran meeting of the American Legion at the Bellevue-Fort Hotel in Philadelphia. Out of 4,400 delegates, 180 suffered from an infection with the bacteria and 29 died as a result of the disease, a severe pneumonia. By the time the health authorities realized it was an epidemic, Legionnaires' disease was already in full swing. Meanwhile, Legionella are distributed worldwide.

Legionella causes legionellosis, an infectious disease that primarily affects two forms: Legionnaire's disease, which is transmitted by droplet infection and causes life-threatening pneumonia, as well as the normally milder Pontiac fever. (Ag)

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Diagnosis: Legionella in drinking water
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