Legionnaire’s disease: A growing threat in unoccupied homes and businesses

Lockdown restrictions have shaken up the living situations of much of the population. Whether as a result of job loss, the need to care for elderly relatives, moving out of cities, or avoiding loneliness, many people have moved since the start of the pandemic – often to stay with friends and family – and left their properties vacant for up to a year.

Plus, with ‘work from home’ recommendations in place for most of the last year, plenty of office buildings have been left unoccupied too. 

With many non-essential businesses now set to reopen on April 12th, one thing that’s often overlooked when returning to a property or office is the risk of serious infection. 

Over time, the unused pipe systems in vacant homes can become breeding grounds for bacteria – in particular, potentially lethal Legionella bacteria.

Legionella is the harmful bacteria behind Legionnaire’s disease – a serious lung infection that’s responsible for giving sufferers a form of pneumonia that is fatal in 10 percent of cases. The bacteria cling to water droplets that, when inhaled, causes flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath, chest pain and a high temperature.

The nasty pipe resident is commonly found in taps, hosepipes and showerheads and thrives in mild to warm temperatures, usually between 20°C and 45°C. Old corroded pipes are the bacteria’s dream as they need iron and moisture to reproduce, so those with ageing pipe networks are particularly at risk.

Pipes that have been left for many weeks have the potential to become filled with stagnant water that allows harmful organisms to fester. Over time, this can form a layer of film – commonly known as biofilm – creating the ideal conditions for legionella to multiply. 

A potentially life-threatening amount of bacteria can begin to line the pipes in as little as a couple of weeks, meaning even holidaymakers need to be wary. But with homes, offices and workplaces having been vacant for drastically longer than that – in some cases over a year – the risk only grows for those returning to these places as lockdown restrictions ease.

The good news is that it’s completely preventable, provided you know what to do.

When you return home or to the workplace, run the taps for a minimum of 5 minutes before using them, to help flush out any nasty bacteria. With shower heads and hot taps, make sure the water is piping hot as the bacteria can’t multiply in temperatures above 50°C and are killed off at 60°C.