Daejeon City "Legionella Bacteria Detected 3 Times More... Urges Infection Prevention"

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] This year, the number of Legionella bacteria detections in multi-use facilities in Daejeon has increased more than threefold. The Daejeon city government is conducting inspections focusing on high-risk facilities while urging infection prevention.

According to the city and the City Health and Environment Research Institute on the 26th, a total of 376 Legionella bacteria tests have been conducted on multi-use facilities in the area so far this month, with Legionella bacteria detected in 18 cases (4.7%).

This is an increase of 13 cases compared to last year, when 5 cases (1.2%) were detected out of 402 tests.

In this regard, the city plans to conduct Legionella bacteria inspections on 177 multi-use facilities, including high-risk facilities such as large hospitals, nursing hospitals, and elderly welfare facilities, until the end of next month.

Legionellosis is classified as a third-class infectious disease caused by the proliferation of Legionella bacteria in water from cooling towers of large buildings, hot and cold water systems in buildings, bathhouses, and water play facilities in swimming pools, which are inhaled and infected by droplets.

Infection with Legionella bacteria can cause symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, high fever, and chills due to pneumonia, and in severe cases, symptoms such as difficulty breathing may appear.

Especially since differentiation from the currently prevalent coronavirus infection is necessary, the city plans to conduct re-inspections after completing disinfection measures for facilities exceeding the standards in the inspection results.

A city official said, “Regular disinfection and management of cooling tower water, etc., are important to prevent legionellosis,” and added, “We urge thorough management to prevent legionellosis infection, especially in hospitals and elderly care facilities where many patients have weakened immune systems.”