Legionnaires deaths ‘no cause for alarm’

New South Wales health authorities say the recent deaths of two elderly people from Legionnaires disease are not cause for alarm.

New South Wales health authorities say the recent deaths of two elderly people from Legionnaires disease are not cause for alarm.Jeremy McAnulty from New South Wales Health says the risk of being exposed to the disease is low, considering the last case was reported on March 1.Dr McAnulty says people should take preventative measures to avoid the disease.”One is about avoiding dust from gardening materials like potting mix – don’t breathe that in, wear a mask, wash your hands thoroughly,” he said.”The other is about a message to building owners who run cooling towers for airconditioning systems – make sure they’re well maintained.”Eleven people have contracted two separate strains of the disease in Sydney and the Illawarra region since January.It is believed they caught the disease by inhaling potting mix dust or contaminated water vapour from cooling towers.Two people remain in hospital.(Source: ABC Health News, March 2004)