Legionella
What is Legionella?
Legionella is a group of bacteria that thrives in aquatic environments. They can also be present in industrial environments such as cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and other water-based systems.
If not properly controlled, Legionella can rapidly multiply and become airborne. Inhalation of Legionella-contaminated aerosols poses a significant risk to human health, potentially leading to Legionnaires' disease. Currently, there are 52 identified species of Legionella.
Legionnaires’ disease explained
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe lung infection caused by breathing in Legionella bacteria. Symptoms can appear shortly after exposure. This means anyone exposed to the bacteria is potentially at risk. While older adults and those with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable, anyone can get sick from Legionella. Inhaling tiny water droplets containing the bacteria or accidentally swallowing contaminated water can lead to the infection.
How can it impact your industrial process?
Legionella bacteria love fresh water. While they're not usually harmful in their natural environments, they become a problem in man-made settings. This means any system using water could be a risk. Many cooling systems use fresh water. The air pumped into buildings often passes through wet material soaked in this water first. This setup can create the right conditions for Legionella to grow.
How can you prevent Legionnaires’ disease?
Adding a customized Munters humidification solution can help preventing Legionnaires’ disease. Steam humidification keeps the water temperature above 60°C, which stops Legionella bacteria from growing. However, with evaporative humidification and cooling systems, lower water temperatures are necessary. Despite this, Legionella growth is prevented because the transfer of humidity occurs at a molecular level, which doesn't allow Legionella bacteria to travel with the tiny water molecules.
Choose the right Munters humidification solution for your process
Protect product quality, cut losses, and lower operating costs with Munters humidifiers. Our evaporative and steam humidifiers are designed to optimize humidity in industrial, commercial, and agricultural buildings. With Munters, you get dependable and efficient climate control solutions that keep operations productive and safe!