Ferries And Cruise Ships Legionella Testing

Are you looking for ferries and cruise ships legionella testing in the UK? Find out why testing matters for cruise ships and how to deal with an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease.

Legionella risk in cruise ships and ferries

The increasing development of marine traffic has led to extreme rises in the incidence of Legionellosis incidents among various travellers. It can crop up in similar environments, chiefly in crowded or closed-off areas and aboard ships and vessels.

Legionella Pneumophila Pneumonia Bacteria can also pass into environments through air conditioning systems. Any locations with freshwater systems or potable water tanks allow high risks of Legionella infections to multiply and survive in the pipework and rapidly spread throughout the water distribution points, the air, and air-conditioning systems.

In recent years throughout the cruise ship construction industry, they have utilised a wide range of cruise ship preventive measures to help curb the generation of Legionella disease. Professionals, water engineers and marine specialists have done so through the materials like galvanised steel, designs, maintenance of hot and cold water systems, IND maintenance and the operation performed.

They consider each necessary detail and review reports, as in the past little to no attention has been provided to smaller ships, most of which are now too old and no longer maintained at the same level as newer ships.

Many studies and tests aim to produce graphics that help successfully evaluate the severity and frequency of Legionella contamination in your local ferries and ships.

Assessing the increased risks will allow companies to carefully adopt more specific control measures to help rid these issues raised on board and keep their cruise ship passengers, accommodations and crew cabins as safe as possible when travelling with them.

Specialists carried out the most prevalent epidemiological and microbiological analysis and findings on cruise ships of around six and ten total ferries that surely number of water and air samples from the most critical points of the vessels and tested them for quantitative and qualitative identification of Legionella SPP. The data obtained confirm higher risks of Legionella onboard. Adults above 45, tobacco smokers and those with compromised immune systems are often the most at risk of contracting the disease and developing serious lung infections.

Water Safety Plans

We highly recommend you implement various water safety plans if Legionella disease begins to multiply either on land or at sea inside any water system, as those surrounding the area are at immense risk.

All those operators or owners of ships or maritime vessels must have specific corrective actions and contractors to contract if they sense any risks or if guests catch the disease and gain a respiratory infection.

Each boat or ship should ideally have its separate plans that suit its waterborne vessel best, much like how water towers and buildings have differences and quirks that suit them.

Controlling Legionella on ferries

Ferries have been utilised for all kinds of reasons, such as regular journeys completed within a few hours, or perhaps those customers and passengers spending longer durations on board.

One Example Is When Out Of An Approximate Ten Tested Ferries, 70% received positive tests for serogroup one strains of Legionella Pneumophila, 80% were positive for the serogroup 2-14 strain, which is not as severe but still poses a threat to the health of your guests, whether in the long-term or short-term.

Cruise ships testing positive for Legionella

We Have Previously Mentioned That Legionella Proliferation Research Tells How Competent Persons Rigorously Tested Six Cruise Ships Examined For The Same Strain Of Legionella Bacteria.

They tested them in Legionella serogroups of 1 and 2-14, all as common antigens, sometimes called serocomplex. The positive samples collected used from sampling points were tiny. The ships they tested that came out positive for Legionella were much smaller; they recorded that in one-third of the tested cruise ships, Legionella contamination was found positive for the dangerous sg 1, and at least 16% were found positive for the sg 2-14 variant.

Several companies and people spend time investing in the grandest, newest and most extensive ships; therefore, it makes more sense for them to be far safer than aged ships that rely on older systems for plumbing and water services.

Especially newer cruise ships that let hundreds of guests and passengers travel across many seas. While this is the case, it also is a massive indicator that there is an immense need for cruise liners to be more attentive toward your cold and hot water systems' overall treatment and condition.

That way, you can ensure all Legionella associated risks are efficiently and properly managed.

Thousands of guests and cruise ship passengers are exposed to the disease whilst you are on board in various ways, including the numerous other potable water systems, such as:

Rid all moist chambers, wall slime, limescale and all forms of dirt and grime from your systems, as this will allow you to ensure no legionella bacteria are growing in these areas. 

things to consider

Many systems and tanks are altered during refits, especially if they contain drainage and plumbing materials that are far older or no longer approved by the health and safety regulations. If systems have been created challengingly for professional engineers to monitor, repair and maintain, they must be adapted.

One of the most common issues that many tanks and systems face on ships is blind ends and dead legs; these make controlling and monitoring a struggle for operators.

You want to ensure you employ a talented individual to manage the systems and tanks, keeping them under control so they don't exceed certain temperatures or fall below. Low cabin occupancy and water stagnation can influence biofilms to form, where harmful bacteria like Legionella can grow.

Due to this, water specialists onboard have made developments to create new, faster methods that are more suitable, as using traditional Legionella testing techniques on your vessel can be impractical and time-consuming.

Many water system sources could face Legionella contamination, such as showers and baths, decorative fountains, potable water, spa pools, water for washing, etc. Duty holders onboard your vessels and cruise ships are typically encouraged to send marine specialists samples of water to a local laboratory.

Doing so is a more traditional method for Legionella, and it's more familiar to various professionals in the industry; however, many have found a wide range of limitations to this method. Many professionals may use this method a few times a year, yet many are more familiar with more modern methods that take around 30 minutes for results to develop.

Why Does Water Testing Matter for Cruise Ships?

Legionnaire's disease can be transferred when individuals or a few people inhale little contaminated water droplets or particles containing harmful Legionella strains.

Familiar sources where such risks of the disease are most prevalent are found in smaller pleasure vessels, including hot tubs, cooling and evaporation towers, decorative fountains, faucets, hot baths, and tap water and showers.

These cases have been strongly linked to various facilities, such as long-term health care facilities, hospitals, power plants, cruise ships, spas and hotels, etc. In 2027, the world will have a fleet of approximately 125 brand-new construction of cruise ships hitting the waters, ultimately boosting the rate of ships on the sea to over 450-550.

Water heater temperatures, especially those under 50°C, can influence the disease risks for your guests, down to increasing bacterial growth inside your water outputs tanks.

Watch out for temperatures of approximately 40-50°C as this is where the bigger risks become most prominent. Newer and more extensive local ferries or cruise ships have been carefully built with increasingly efficient preventative measures and sanitation solutions, which have only been enhanced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and its most apparent ship-related incidents on the news.

Most companies highly encourage passengers to sanitise their hands when they first enter the ship and its more public spaces. There are often far more challenges regarding BMC public health implications when you are surrounded by and near hundreds and thousands of passengers.

Very little has been done to protect passengers and employees aboard various sizes of ships, small, large, new and old. Older water distribution systems seem to be less maintained by professionals as the focus shifts to newer vessels.  

Dealing with an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease

It's paramount that those professionals on board ferries and cruise ships learn to adequately deal with minor or significant outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease and various other water or airborne health risks and their clinical manifestations registered.

Those in the business that owns the vessel, boat or ship, their managers and passengers could be put at significant risk of prosecution by local authorities in the area, back home or even sued by those affected by the disease.

Legionella risk assessments and independent compliance auditing are paramount for dealing with legionnaires' disease.  People catching diseases like these can do incredible reputational damage to your business and any businesses involved.

Water systems and tanks onboard receive systematic bacteriological analysis and preliminary inspections on the overall drinking water quality. Losing lives onboard and mass spreading illness can damage you, your passengers, and your business will suffer immensely.