Mississauga, Ontario, November 9, 2022
There has been an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Orillia, Ontario. As of this release, there have been 23 confirmed cases with one additional case under investigation. Out of these individuals, five have been hospitalized after being diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak continues to be monitored.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) believes that the source is likely from one of the cooling towers in Orillia. This is being investigated with testing the water along with cleaning and disinfecting the towers. The disease is not contracted by drinking water or person to person transmission but by breathing droplets that contain the bacteria.
“Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia that can occur when people inhale water droplets or mists containing Legionella bacteria,” said Jason Dobranic, Ph.D., Vice President of Microbiology and Life Sciences at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “It is found naturally in freshwater environments but can become a health concern if it grows and spreads in a building water system. Testing is the only way to know for sure if Legionella is present in a cooling tower or other source. At EMSL, we offer traditional culturing methods and advanced Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing methods. PCR tests are an excellent method for rapid results so mitigation can begin in a timely manner. Traditional culturing methods remain the gold standard, but results can take up to 2 weeks, therefore these two testing methods are often used together on a project. We also offer all the sampling supplies necessary.”
EMSL Canada, Inc.’s Mississauga’s lab offers
Legionella testing and is located at 2756 Slough Street, Mississauga, ON. Contact them at (289) 997-4602 or
torontolab@emsl.com for any questions regarding testing services or sampling supplies needs. For more information on additional testing performed by EMSL Canada, Inc., please visit
www.emslcanada.ca/.
About EMSL Canada, Inc.
EMSL Canada is an internationally recognized provider of environmental, indoor air quality, and materials testing services and products to professionals and the public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as provincial regulating bodies.