Legionnaires’ disease continues to be a global threat to public health. While this discovery is more than 40 years old, the prevention of this manmade disease remains elusive. Some may say this is an audacious goal, but we say it’s achievable! The solution is to control the growth and spread of these waterborne bacteria. Since water is the source, by controlling Legionella in the source, we control the risk for disease.
This CE accredited webinar describes a validated proactive strategy of looking for Legionella in the water before disease occurs. Studies show that this approach is the keystone for prevention. Testing premise water systems using environmental culturing techniques for Legionella is crucial for both the investigation of Legionella outbreaks and routine microbiological surveillance for Legionella. Highlights include:
Review of interpretation of environmental sampling results, and clinical sampling results
Average cost of an outbreak, including financial and public relations
The low cost of routine environmental sampling compared to the price of an outbreak
Speaker:
Chair:
Dr. Janet E. Stout is president and director of Special Pathogens Laboratory, and research associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. An infectious disease microbiologist, Dr. Stout is recognized worldwide for seminal discoveries and pioneering research in Legionella. Her expertise includes prevention and control strategies for Legionnaires’ disease in building water systems. Dr. Stout’s more than 30 years of research is published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals. She has also authored textbook chapters on Legionella and Legionnaires’ disease, including the Legionella chapter in the APIC Text. An advocate for prevention, Dr. Stout assisted in developing the first Legionella prevention guideline (1993) in the United States, which continues to serve as a model for national and global health agencies and organizations. Additionally, she serves on the ASHRAE Legionella standard committee for Legionella Guideline 12 and the SPC 188 committee for ANSI / ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems, the first U. S. standard passed in June 2015. Recently, Dr. Stout was elected to the board of the Cooling Technology Institute.
