 The Feathers Hotel Ludlow |
A hotel in Shropshire has
temporarily closed following a death linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires
disease.
Two people became ill with
confirmed cases of Legionnaires disease after staying at the Feathers Hotel in
Ludlow.
A woman in her 70s fell ill in
April and recovered but a second individual, a woman in her 60s, became ill in
July and died the following month.
Lab tests on samples taken from
both patients were described as ‘indistinguishable’ from the strain of
Legionella bacteria found in water in the hotel plumbing by PHE.
On advice from the PHE in the
Midlands and Shropshire Council, management decided to close the hotel while
remedial work was carried out as a ‘precautionary measure.’
Dr David Kirrage, consultant
with PHE West Midlands health protection team, gave his ‘heartfelt condolences’
to all those affected by the outbreak.
He added: ‘Isolated cases of
Legionella infection are reported to us on a regular basis and investigated as
a matter of routine.
‘However, results from PHE
laboratories on Monday 11 September 2017 confirmed that the strain of
Legionella located in the hotel is indistinguishable from the samples taken
from the two cases.
‘Extensive work is now needed
to overhaul and treat the plumbing in such an old building.’
EHOs from Shropshire Council
will continue to take water samples from the hotel during the work to test for
the bacteria.
An investigation into how the
outbreak happened is on-going and the hotel is not expected to open until at
least the third week in October.
When Legionella was first
discovered at the hotel, the management closed the affected rooms, disinfected
the water system and employed heating contractors to investigate the boilers
and pipework in line with public health advice.
It also wrote to guests who had
stayed at the hotel in the preceding fortnight and advised them to make contact
if they had experienced any of the symptoms of Legionnaires disease.
Early symptoms of Legionnaires
disease are a ‘flu-like’ illness, muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough
and fever, which can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia can cause a patient to become extremely unwell with
diarrhoea as well as suffer from chest and breathing problems, and confusion
can also occur.Legionnaires is a rare disease and usually only affects people
with compromised immune systems. It is treated with a course of
antibiotics.
Shropshire Council’s Cabinet
member for health, adult social care and housing, Lee Chapman also offered his
‘sincere condolences to the families affected.’
He added: ‘The health and
safety of our residents and visitors in Shropshire is a key priority and
Shropshire Council will always strongly encourage employers to make health and
safety improvements that protect their customers and staff.
‘Our health protection team
provides advice on health and safety in the workplace including the control of
Legionella bacteria in a wide range of water systems.
‘The team has been working
closely with the proprietor of the hotel and under the direction of Public
Health England to investigate the incident and ensure the right measures are in
place to resolve this issue.
‘Businesses have a clear
responsibility to ensure that customers, staff and other visitors are safe on
their premises and protected from any health hazards. It is reassuring to know
that the proprietor is taking the necessary steps and arrangement to do this.”
According to PHE, in 2014 in
the West Midlands there were a total of 38 cases of Legionnaires compared to 51
in 2012. Nationally there were 331 cases of Legionnaires in 2014 compared to
306 in 2012.