Legionella risk on vacation
Have you ever had a queasy feeling about water hygiene when showering at your holiday destination? With the start of this year’s holiday season and thus the first after various Covid lockdowns, the danger of getting infected with germs from the shower in hotels and holiday flats is increasing. Particularly dangerous: legionella. Two cases are currently reported in the USA. In southern Germany, there were severe cases of legionellosis last summer with several deaths. It was suspected that this was related to the lockdowns, during which many overnight accommodation facilities were closed for months.
Commercial accommodation establishments in Germany have to test their tap water once a year. But there are different standards worldwide and whether every AirBNB host pays attention to this? Rooms or flats that have rarely been used recently can now pose a risk. This is because legionella bacteria multiply in water pipes that are used irregularly. Stagnant and heated cold water provides the best conditions for legionella and other germs to multiply explosively.
Legionella can cause a very serious form of pneumonia by inhaling the smallest droplets of water, e.g. when showering, in a steam bath or through humidifiers. Healthy people are less likely to contract the disease, but the risk increases in children, the elderly and immunocompromised persons.
How can holidaymakers protect themselves while travelling? First of all, run hot and cold water for 5 minutes each before showering. But that does not guarantee protection. The best protection is a Seccua GmbH Räyn shower filter, which can be easily installed between the water pipe and the shower hose.
Hotel operators and operators of holiday flats can effectively protect their guests against legionella by installing Seccua ultrafiltration systems at the point of entry of drinking water from public pipes into the building. The membrane from the medical technology practically acts like a firewall and keeps legionella, other pathogens and sediments out.
Info at www.seccua.com
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