At the end of the year, 24 cases of legionellosis were diagnosed in Strasbourg, in the Bas-Rhin, in people aged 42 to 88. Two of them died from the respiratory infection. The cause of the disease would have been identified: the bacteria would be spread by a collective boiler room in the Tanneries district in Lingolsheim, west of Strasbourg. It was shut down for maintenance and no case of legionellosis has been reported since.
A bacterium that grows in hot water circuits
Legionellosis is a disease that is caused by bacteria (Legionella pneumophila) that causes a serious and potentially fatal lung infection. This bacterium develops in hot water supply circuits such as cooling towers, boiler rooms, air conditioners, whirlpools, etc. Contamination occurs through the respiratory tract, by inhaling droplets of contaminated water.
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