Legionella in the News: January 12, 2023 – Passaic and Bergen counties, NJ: Seven confirmed cases of Legionnaire’s disease reported to NJDOH.
No other testing method can compare to the speed, accuracy and low cost of OnSite Legionella Testing’s Water and Surface testing protocols.
Clear & Present Danger
- Not all legionella outbreaks reach the media. 7,500 cases were reported in 2017 with an estimate of more than 500,000 as the true number.
- There has been a 500% increase in reported legionella cases since 2000.
- More than 30% of all cooling towers are contaminated with legionella.
- There is a 10% chance of fatality if people get sick from legionella.
- The average Legionnaires case settlement exceeds $2.5 million.
- Legionella is common in hot tubs. Even those “treated” with chlorine / UV. Over 200 cases of legionnaires and 5 deaths have been reported in the last 3 months of 2019 alone due to hot tubs
Rigorous Accurate Testing
- It is important to test water-using systems to ensure biological control.
- Plate counts suffer from over 60% false negatives due to sample degradation during shipping.
- Plate counts can’t detect VBNC (Viable But Non Culture-able) forms of legionella which are still capable of causing illness and death.
- Independent testing assures that your results are accurate and your system stays clean and free of disease.
Fast Inexpensive Results
- OSLT gives you reliable results in 25 minutes and prices start at $149 per test.
- Recommendations for treatment and a formal report issued within 24 hours with contract for site visit or annual agreement.
- Lab / Plate tests take 14 – 21 days to return results and costs $150 per test.
- PCR / Lab Tests take 2 – 4 days and costs $300 per test.
OnSite Legionella Testing assures your facility has a good fact pattern documenting consistent use of best practices resulting in control of legionella.