Tag: LEGIONELLA

Another person has died as a result of a Legionnaires’ outbreak in North Carolina, state health officials announced late last week. The death of a fourth person due to the outbreak – possibly linked to a hot tub display at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, which took place Sept. 6-15 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher – was revealed in an updated interim report released Friday by officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Health officials also have confirmed 141 cases of Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever, a milder form of the illness. The outbreak has affected North Carolina residents as well as those in other states. Ninety-four people, or about 69 percent, have been hospitalized due to the outbreak!

An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease each year in the U.S. How can so many people be infected by this bacteria, especially in places where you think you would be safe from any deadly bacteria? Being exposed to any water system can be a source of disease if the water in it is subjected to conditions that promote growth of the organism as in the case of the Spas noted above at the fair.

So how do you kill Legionella?

First, is preventing it! Killing the bacteria before it reaches any water system. Traditional oxidizing agents such as chlorine have been proven very effective in controlling Legionella. Using continuous chlorination at low free residual levels can be effective in controlling Legionella. That’s why many hospitals are using Everpure’s 7SI cartridges on their ice machines to help prevent the Legionella bacteria from forming in their water.

7SI Cartridge

Specializes in slime and bacteria growth prevention
Reduces particulates down to 0.5 micron
Utilizes depth filtration and Fiberdyne™ media for superior dirt holding capability
Leaves chlorine and chloramines within water that is supplied to equipment which helps to reduce slime and bacteria growth in applications
Reduces system maintenance, service costs and buildup. Scale and slime, as well as, bacteria growth can result in clogging of distribution lines, malfunction of probes, floats, pumps, solenoids and valves, and higher energy consumption
Sanitary cartridge replacement is simple, quick and clean. Internal filter parts are never exposed to handling or contamination
Can be used on Insurice® and Hybrid Manifold Systems
NSF® Certified under NSF / ANSI Standards 42 and 53

Features:

Cyst Reduction
Particulate Reduction
Capacity: 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters)
Maximum Flow: 3.5 gpm (13.25 lpm)
Qty. per Case: 0
Working Pressure: 10 – 125 psi (0.7 – 8.6 bar), non-shock
Max. Temp: 35 – 100ºF (2 – 38ºC)
H: 20.75″ D: 3.25″ Certifications: NSF42 NSF53

Posted on July 17, 2014March 7, 2017 by filterpurerd — Leave a comment

Water Hazards in Building Systems

NSF pushes forward with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) training to reduce risk of microbial, chemical and physicals hazards in building water systems.

Every year, tens of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths are caused by exposure to microbial, chemical, and physical hazards from building water systems. Utilizing HACCP guidelines to building water systems builds a framework for identifying potential hazards and specifies measures for control to ensure building’s water supply safety. HACCP is a program that provides the necessary training to understand best practices procedure for maintaining a facility water supply. Filter Pure Systems supports the continued focus by NSF to provide guidelines to promote safe and healthy water.

When working with our Healthcare facilities, we verify with them the level of NSF certification needed by water systems to remove designated contaminants. NSF 42 certification for water filtration covers systems designed to reduce Aesthetic or non-health related contaminants. These contaminants include chlorine, taste and odor, and particulates that may be present in public and private drinking water. In the water supply for a hospital, this is not enough protection for the immunocompromised patients. We recommend utilizing NSF 53 standards at point of use sources for patients that may be susceptible to microbiological exposure. NSF 53 systems are certified to reduce specific health-related contaminants. These contaminants may be microbiological (including cyst and legionella), chemical (including disinfection byproducts, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides), and particulates. The first step, we take in securing the quality of our Healthcare facility is to ensure we have a solid foundation of filtration to protect the staff and patients. Using the industry-leading brand Everpure allows us the flexibility to meet the needs of our clients without sacrificing quality or reliability. Let us help you establish a guideline of how to secure the quality of your water from Point of Use to Point of Entry systems. To view more information on the HACCP training program, please visit nsf.org. For more information or to discuss your current water filtration system, please contact our Health Care & Lodging Specialist, Todd Leach. Click here to ask us a question!

Posted on September 13, 2013August 10, 2016 by filterpurerd — 1 Comment

Legionella: The Silent Killer!

In the last year, over 400 people have been infected by a water born bacteria called Legionella. Over 30 of those infected died. What’s more shocking than those numbers is the fact that those outbreaks took place in hospitals, retirement communities, theme parks, and hotels. An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease each year in the U.S. How can so many people be infected by this bacteria, especially in places where you think you would be safe from any deadly bacteria? Being exposed to any water system can be a source of disease if the water in it is subjected to conditions that promote growth of the organism.

In Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY, multiple people developed Legionnaires disease; case investigation and environmental culture surveillance found that the Legionella bacteria came from the ice machine. One 66-year old patient, who was making a slow recovery from cancer, died from the outbreak due to inhalation of the aerosols released from the ice chips he was consuming.

So how do you kill Legionella?

7SI Cartridge

Specializes in slime and bacteria growth prevention
Reduces particulates down to 0.5 micron
Utilizes depth filtration and Fiberdyne™ media for superior dirt holding capability
Leaves chlorine and chloramines within water that is supplied to equipment which helps to reduce slime and bacteria growth in applications
Reduces system maintenance, service costs and buildup. Scale and slime, as well as, bacteria growth can result in clogging of distribution lines, malfunction of probes, floats, pumps, solenoids and valves, and higher energy consumption
Sanitary cartridge replacement is simple, quick and clean. Internal filter parts are never exposed to handling or contamination
Can be used on Insurice® and Hybrid Manifold Systems
NSF® Certified under NSF / ANSI Standards 42 and 53

Features:

Cyst Reduction
Particulate Reduction
Capacity: 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters)
Maximum Flow: 3.5 gpm (13.25 lpm)
Qty. per Case: 0
Working Pressure: 10 – 125 psi (0.7 – 8.6 bar), non-shock
Max. Temp: 35 – 100ºF (2 – 38ºC)
H: 20.75″ D: 3.25″ Certifications: NSF42 NSF53