Two staff ill as disease is traced to workplace

TWO STAFF members at the Dublin headquarters of insurance firm Allianz have been diagnosed with the potentially fatal legionnaires' disease, after contracting it through the company's air-conditioning system.

Allianz believes that a cooling tower, used as part of the company's air-conditioning system, may be the source of the outbreak, as it was found to have high levels of the legionella bacterium. As the contaminated cooling tower was located in the underground car park of the firm's headquarters in Elm Park, Dublin 4, Allianz says it is difficult to determine who may have been in its vicinity.

In a statement, Allianz said it was confident that it had "taken all steps necessary to guarantee that any further risk of infection has been neutralised".

The firm intends to continue to monitor the situation and will keep employees informed of further developments. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has investigated the outbreak, and is "fully satisfied that Allianz has taken all necessary steps to address this outbreak of legionnaires' disease at its offices through both its testing and reporting procedures".

Allianz became aware of the problem on June 27th, when a staff member was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with the disease. It then notified the HSE, which in association with the company put in place standard procedures to identify the source.

Following an investigation of the insurer's air-conditioning system, Allianz shut down its cooling towers and completed emergency cleaning and disinfection procedures on July 2nd. Although Allianz leases the building, it is responsible for its up-keep and the affected cooling towers were commissioned and installed by Allianz.

The HSE then distributed relevant information on the disease to the company's staff, and any members of staff showing symptoms were advised to contact their GPs immediately. A number of staff members are now being tested for the disease.

This procedure led to the confirmation of the second case, on July 7th. The incubation period for legionnaires' is two to 10 days, so other cases may emerge. All employees at Allianz have been informed of the outbreak and advised to contact the human resources department should they have concerns.

Statistics provided by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show the rate of legionnaires' is much lower in Ireland than the European average, occurring in approximately 3.8 people out of every million in Ireland, compared to 11.2 cases per million of population in Europe.

From 2000-2007, 67 cases were reported in Ireland and there were five deaths. The median age of those affected was 48 years, with a range from 18 to 80 years.

Legionnaires' disease: how it strikes

LEGIONNAIRES' disease is a type of pneumonia, which can be very serious, and signs can include a high fever, chills and a cough. In Ireland the disease is quite rare, with 16 cases reported in 2007.

It causes death in about 7.5 per cent of cases, but most cases can be treated successfully with antibiotics.

The bacterium tends to grow in warm water and the disease is contracted by breathing in contaminated vapour.

It is not spread through personal contact and most people exposed to the bacteria do not become ill.