Legionnaires’ Disease Cases Lead to Legionella Water Testing

San Antonio, TX, October 03, 2020 --(PR.com)-- As businesses and buildings started to reopen after coronavirus shutdowns there was concern that Legionella bacteria could be growing in unused buildings' water systems. Legionella bacteria, when aerosolized and breathed in, is a cause of Legionnaires’ disease, a dangerous pneumonia type respiratory illness. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in 10 people who have Legionnaires’ disease will die from the disease. The elderly and persons with pre-existing conditions are more at risk to contract the disease. Generally, the disease is not spread person to person.

When building owners work to prevent Legionella from growing in a building’s water system, they reduce the risk of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. In the past couple of months in the United States, Legionella bacteria was found in school buildings in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. More recently, news reports show Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks being investigated in Illinois, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. Hyperion Biotechnology, an environmental microbiology laboratory specializing in Legionella water testing, promotes the importance of sampling and testing water. “Even when businesses or healthcare facilities follow water management plans, Legionella can still grow. The only way to know if prevention methods are working is to test the water,” Dr. John Kalns, Chief Scientific Officer at Hyperion stated. “Being proactive by testing the water system is the best method for preventing people from becoming exposed to Legionella bacteria and possibly getting sick with Legionnaires’ disease.”

Testing water on a regular basis is affordable and effective in identifying if a building’s water system has a Legionella bacteria problem. Legionella bacteria growth can usually be prevented by following water management plans and guidelines such as those from the CDC. Testing is the only way to confirm there are no dangerous bacteria in the water. If Legionella is found in a water system, building owners can take corrective action to reduce the risk of someone developing Legionnaires’ disease. A certified laboratory can conduct accurate water analysis that provides building owners with results to determine that their building’s water does not pose a health threat to the public.

About Hyperion
Hyperion Biotechnology, Inc. is a Woman-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small business. As an environmental microbiology laboratory, Hyperion holds CDC Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation (CDC ELITE) and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program (EMLAP) certifications. Additionally, Hyperion offers expertise in biomedical research and development with discoveries in salivary biomarkers to objectively measure fatigue levels. Hyperion delivers high-quality research and staffing for government and commercial customers and maintains a CLIA certified laboratory providing high-complexity clinical reference testing. Learn more at https://hyperionbiotechnology.com/environmental-microbiology/