Fresh Legionnaires' disease outbreak sweeps across Sydney as four people fall ill as deadly infection surfaces in the heart of the city
- Building owners advised to check water cooling towers after recent outbreak
- Four people have contracted Legionnaires' disease from the same building
- The outbreak is the second reported outbreak in Sydney in less than six months
- Symptoms include fever, chills, shortness of breath and occasionally pneumonia
Owners of buildings in Sydney's CBD have been put on notice after four workers recently contracted Legionnaires' disease.
NSW Health has reported the outbreak could be from contaminated water cooling towers in a number of large buildings.
Unlike many other bacterial diseases, Legionnaires' disease isn't spread by human contact, but it typically occurs when a person breathes in contaminated water or dust.
In recent weeks, four people working in Sydney's CBD have contracted Legionnaires' disease - it could be from contaminated water cooling towers in a number of large buildings
The outbreak comes shortly after a similar situation occurred in Lidcombe, a suburb in western Sydney, in September last year.
At the time, three individuals who had traces of the infection were thought to have become infected by the same water cooling system, according to the Western Sydney Local Health District's public health director Shopna Bag.
The water cooling system has since been decontaminated.
And in 2016, a further 15 individuals reportedly contracted the condition after visiting Sydney's Central Business District, during two separate outbreaks linked to two cooling towers located in the inner city.
Legionnaires' disease often is passed on by bacteria living in water tanks, showerheads and air conditioning systems (stock image)
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As a result of the 2016 outbreak, NSW Health imposed stricter public health regulations, in which building owners were required to undertake monthly tests on cooling towers.
Passersby can contract the disease from contaminated vapour drifting in the outside wind, with symptoms including fever, chills, and shortness of breath.
In some extreme instances, patients can develop pneumonia.
Dr Jeremy McAnulty, the Director, Health Protection of NSW Health, said necessary precautions should always be taken.
'As a routine, when visiting common areas, NSW Health works with local councils to ensure cooling towers in the affected areas are properly maintained,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'People who develop this disease are diagnosed by chest X-ray and a urine test and usually require antibiotic treatment in hospital.'
If left untreated, Legionnaires' disease can cause a person to suffer from life-threatening complications such as respiratory failure from pneumonia and kidney failure.
Legionnaires' disease typically occurs when a person breathes in contaminated water or dust (stock image)
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