“Why did it hit my husband and not me?” Andrea G. can’t let go of this question. She lives in Heilbronn, in a house with old pipes. Although she was familiar with legionella, she had never dealt with the topic in detail. Three weeks before the fateful October 5th, the gas instantaneous water heater suddenly went out, the father-in-law took care of it because he used to work as a gas-water plumber. “According to the stories, the water temperature was set to Eco, maybe that was too low,” says the widow. Whether and to what extent the failure of the heater played a role in the spread of legionella can no longer be clarified in the end.
About a week later, her husband is not feeling well, but he cannot give an exact reason. “He got a high fever and he was getting worse and worse. The weekend before German Unity Day, I took him to the family doctor. There he was already confused, probably because of the fever,” says Andrea G. The couple quickly found out sent to the hospital. On site, the coronavirus and influenza are first ruled out, the medical team diagnoses pneumonia. Andrea G. then finds out exactly what it is all about.
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia that can manifest itself as cough, chills, headache, severe illness and high fever. States of confusion are also possible.
“The doctors quickly told me that I had to reckon with everything. On October 5th, my husband died as a result of legionella and blood poisoning from multiple organ failure,” said G. emotionally. Although her husband had already suffered four heart attacks in the course of his life and was at risk as a pre-existing patient, “even the chief physician was very shocked at how quickly something like this can happen,” confirms the widow.
But how did the dangerous bacteria get into the man’s body? According to the responsible health authority, this probably happened in the shower.
“The legionella were discovered in the inlet of the hose. The health department found a medium level of contamination, and that was enough for my husband,” explains G. She herself remained healthy. After losing her husband, Andrea G.’s only option is to enlighten other people about the terrible consequences of incorrect energy-saving measures.
“Saving can be deadly,” she warns, looking at the hot water temperature. In the current energy crisis, consumers keep toying with the idea of lowering the hot water temperature in the house – a dangerous cost-saving measure, as general practitioner Dr. Christopher Specht explains.
“Ideally, the water temperature should always be 60 degrees Celsius. Temperatures between 25 and 45 degrees Celsius offer ideal growth conditions for legionella. Growth is effectively inhibited above 50 degrees Celsius and the bacteria even die above 60 degrees Celsius,” explains the medics.
His appeal: the flow temperature should never be too low. In your own house you can regulate this yourself, as a tenant it is advisable to consult the house owner regularly.
dr Specht also warns against saving gas, for example by consumers no longer using the tap regularly in some rooms. “This can lead to stagnation of water in the plumbing. These still waters are ideal for the spread of legionella and can contaminate the entire water system in the home,” he warns. A water connection that is no longer to be used must be disconnected from the water system by specialists.
Legionella are dangerous, as in the case of Andrea G.’s husband, if they are inhaled through aerosols, for example when showering. “You can drink a glass of water from the tap and nothing would happen. But if you inhale the aerosols, Legionella can get into the lungs and cause pneumonia,” warns the doctor. Unfortunately, legionella cannot be combated with the usual hygiene measures; only the water temperature is relevant here. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around five to nine percent of all those infected die from “Legionnaires’ disease”, people with a weakened immune system or a certain underlying disease such as diabetes mellitus are particularly affected.
dr Even after a longer holiday, Specht recommends that consumers briefly increase the flow temperature to 60 to 70 degrees to reduce the risk of legionella and kill the bacteria. In general, it is advisable to increase the water temperature from time to time and under no circumstances keep it permanently low as a saving measure, otherwise legionella could remain in the pipe system and spread further.
This article first appeared on RTL.de
