Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 13th March 2025 Issue no. 1153

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'Get hands on about Legionella' warns testing specialist, amid TMV-related risk

Despite an established understanding that Thermostatic Mixing Valve taps offer the highest form of protection against infection, global Legionella detection specialist and testing kit manufactuurer Hydrosense is warning installers about the risk of Legionnaire's disease if necessary precautions are not taken.

Hand hygiene in washrooms is critically important in preventing the spread of germs and maintaining public health - particularly in high-risk environments, such as hospitals and care homes, where susceptible individuals need to be protected from infections. As part of this, the role of hand washing is long understood to be one of the most effective tools to prevent the spread of Hospital Acquired Infections.

To this end, many public buildings – and in particular health and care facilities, now use non-touch taps to negate the need for physical contact, thus significantly reducing the risk of cross-contamination, while also creating significant scope for water saving and cost efficiencies.

Typically, TMVs will play a key role in this by allowing water to be stored and distributed at temperatures high enough to kill Legionella bacteria, while enabling it to be delivered at a safe temperature for use by mixing it with cold water.

However, while TMVs are essential for minimising the risk of scalding, Legionella testing expert Hydrosense is reminding installers that, without the right precautions in place, they can inadvertently increase the risk of Legionella growth.

"People's hands are the most common means of transmitting microorganisms, particularly bacteria, posing significant infection risks for vulnerable groups like children and the elderly,” says Ruth Thomas, product manager at Hydrosense. “Employing non-touch operation helps significantly minimise the risk of cross-contamination. This is especially important in high-risk premises such as healthcare, care homes and education.

"There have, however, been several reports in recent years about increased contamination from Legionella and other bacteria on both sensor-activated and TMV taps. The Legionella risk becomes even greater in taps that are infrequently used or not maintained properly. It is therefore vital to ensure that adequate precautions are in place."

According to a study from 2011 at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the US, Legionella inhabits 50% of hands-free taps compared with only 15% of contamination in manual taps.
Another report published in 2020 on sensor-activated TMV surgical hand washing facilities in 11 hospitals in Italy also found them to be a reservoir for Legionella bacteria. The study identified a staggered 43.8% of samples were positive for Legionella contamination. It also found that levels of contamination from surgical hand wash facilities in three of the 11 hospitals were found to be above the levels considered dangerous by Italian regulations.

At the same time, the scale and severity of Legionella cases happening around the world are all increasing at alarming levels; the US has experienced an alarming 1000% increase since 2003 and only recently, the EU observed its highest annual notification rate of Legionnaires' disease to date.

"Placed into the context of globally rising Legionella cases, and it's clear that more be must done to reduce Legionella risk in TMV tap use,” warns Ruth, who goes on to suggest that there is an obvious opportunity for installers to a play a proactive role and support their customers in reviewing their approach to TMV safety.

"Considerations should include providing on-site testing as part of an installation or maintenance package to help ascertain if control measures have been sufficient,” she suggests.

Ideal for industries that require more stringent action levels, Hydrosense overcomes the limitations of traditional lab-culture testing with its innovative Hydrosense Legionella testing kits. This includes the Hydrosense PRO range, which can detect the presence of Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1-15, and the Hydrosense ONE range, which can detect the presence of Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1 only. Easy to use, accurate and with results delivered in just 25 minutes, the technology results is the early detection of problems, speedy remedial action and a reduction in potential exposure and the associated risks.

In 2024, an extensive independent laboratory study conducted by the US-based CDC Elite-certified laboratory, Chem-Inc, demonstrated that the Hydrosense PRO testing method is 100% accurate in identifying both Legionella pneumophilaserogroup 1 and serogroups 2-15 from blind samples. The results were comparable to the traditional lab culture method but delivered in a significantly shorter time.

https://hydrosense-legionella.com/

20th February 2025