An outbreak of a bacteria which causes Legionnaire’s Disease is being tackled at Leeds children’s hospital. The higher than normal levels of the legionella bug was discovered when builders started work on the new unit at Leeds General Infirmary. It is in pipework at the Clarendon Wing which also houses the maternity unit and managers are now working to try and contain the outbreak.
A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said: “The trust routinely carries out tests on water supplies in all our hospital buildings on a regular basis. Recent testing in the Clarendon wing has identified higher than normal levels of legionella bacteria in some new pipework in a small part of the wing. Levels do vary from time to time in all large buildings. There is an established method of dealing with such changes using a range of remedial and preventative measures.”
The hospital stresses that no patient has contracted Legionnaire’s Disease as a result of the outbreak and the hospital will continue to function normally. Six LGI patients did contract the disease back in 2000 when an outbreak of the bacteria was traced back to the hospital’s cooling system in the new Jubilee Wing. None of those affected died.
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