Page 2987 - Week 10 - Thursday, 16 August 1990
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LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE
Ministerial Statement and Paper
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts), by leave: I am pleased to be able to inform the house of new procedures in the public health area of my health portfolio to contain and monitor a potential outbreak of legionnaires disease in the Australian Capital Territory. A new action plan, developed by the ACT Health Surveillance Section, in conjunction with the New South Wales Department of Health, allows for effective cross-border identification of suspect sources of the disease and an integrated plan for its containment and treatment, should the need arise.
As members may be aware, common sources of infection by the legionnaires disease bacterium, Legionella pneumophila, are air-conditioning systems incorporating cooling towers and evaporative condensers.
While my colleague Mr Duby has the responsibility to ensure that staff of the urban services branch of his department carry out monitoring of air-conditioning systems according to recommended standards, it has been possible to ensure that health surveyors and the ACT Analytical Laboratory within my ministry work in close liaison with the Building Controller and his staff in this area of public health concern.
Fortunately, Canberra has not had a serious outbreak of legionnaires disease. Certainly, we have had cases reported, but the origin of the disease in any one instance could not be sourced to an ACT location and in most cases an out of State source was identified.
Indeed, the new action plan was tested a short time ago when three cases of legionnaires disease in ACT residents were investigated. The potential common source appeared to be in New South Wales, and the compatibility of the New South Wales and ACT plans ensured a speedy investigation without duplication of effort.
The legionnaires bacillus is found naturally in moist environments, such as lakes, streams and soil. Surveys have shown that the organism is in up to 30 per cent of cooling towers in air-conditioning plants, and grows and multiplies in poorly maintained systems where sludge and slime are allowed to accumulate. It has also been found in shower heads, shower water, baths, hand basins, heated water systems and humidifiers using water sprays. It is carried in fine water droplets or vapour emanating from these systems, which are inhaled by the victim; hence the number of cases that have been sourced to locations adjacent to poorly maintained city building air-conditioners.
I do not wish to alarm members by pointing that out, but it is possible, as I have indicated, for shower heads and
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