Increasing cases of the deadly Legionnaire's disease in the UK may be due to showers, government experts have warned, with up to 1.5 million households in Britain potentially harbouring the potentially fatal legionella organism. The outbreak has been linked by health officials and scientists to a lack of chlorine at some public baths across Britain, which could lead to an increase in infections from bacteria that can cause pneumonia.
Increasing cases of the deadly Legionnaire's disease in the UK may be due to showers, government experts have warned, with up to 1.5 million households in Britain potentially harbouring the potentially fatal legionella organism. Research showed that people are becoming infected when they inhale tiny airborne droplets of bacteria-ridden water coming from the showers and, although the disease has previously been linked to large buildings like hotels because of their complex water systems, increasingly it is appearing in homes, particularly where showers and taps have not been used for a few days.