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Gibraltar
Friday, 15 December 2023
Gibraltar's minister for Health, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, will chair a meeting today (Friday, 15 December) to review progress on the hunt for an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease on the Rock. On Tuesday this week the death of one of the four people affected was announced.
Director of Public Health Helen Carter, who is leading the investigation, has suggested three potential sources that are being investigated by Gibraltar's environmental agency.
These have been identified following interviews with those affected, their families and friends, reviewing in detail where they visited and what they did during their incubation periods.
The first potential source is simultaneous infections in all four cases' homes. Whilst this is unlikely, water samples have been taken to rule out this as the source of all four infections. The other two potential sources are a common static source that all cases have walked past or a common mobile source, such as a vehicle.
It usually takes about ten days for environmental water sample results to be processed, as the bacterial cultures need to be grown in a lab.
Helen Carter said she was working to identify the source, adding, "You can't catch it from drinking water or from another person. In the meantime, there are actions we can all take to protect ourselves including running taps for two minutes if your home has been empty or unused for seven days or more and ensuring your vehicle's screen wash bottle contains a proper fluid and not just tap water."
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