BBC-UK-Research suggests professional drivers more at risk of Legionnaires disease 22.06.2010
Windscreen wiper water
Windscreen wiper water may be the cause of 20% of cases of Legionnaires' Disease in England and Wales, the UK Health Protection Agency says. Yet adding screenwash kills the Legionella bacterium and could save lives, the Agency advised
It was seen that people who spend a long time driving were at higher risk of infection: professional drivers are five times more likely to be infected. A research team of the HPA carried out a questionnaire of people infected. They found that those most at risk were those who drove or travelled in a van, those who drove through industrial areas, and those who spent a lot of time in the car or who often had the car window open. In all they found that the biggest risk was associated with not adding screenwash to windscreen wiper water, the European Journal of Epidemiology reports. In a pilot study carried out by the HPA, traces of Legionella were found in one in five cars that did not have screenwash, but in no cars that did.
Windscreen wiper fluid without added screenwash in motor vehicles: a newly identified risk factor for Legionnaires’ disease is reported in the European Journal of Epidemiology, Published online: 8 June 2010.
Read the European Journal of Epidemiology
