Response to Comments on Whiley Legionella Risk Management and Control in Potable Water Systems: Argument for the Abolishment of Routine Testing. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 12
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Date
2017-01-21
Authors
Whiley, Harriet
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
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© 2017 by the author;
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the author;
Abstract
I would like to thank Collins and Walker for their considered comments and for acknowledging that this is an area urgently requiring more research to improve Legionella control and management strategies [1].
I agree with Collins and Walker’s conclusion that the optimum solution would be a water system management strategy that, using an improved Legionella detection method, combines risk assessment, control measures, and routine testing. However, this is currently not an option, as a Legionella detection method that adequately represents the public health risk has not yet been identified [2].
I also suggest that the ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to Legionella utilized in many UK hospitals is an example of false confidence in the culture detection results. It demonstrates how a negative detection result may cause managers to assume their system is ‘Legionella-free’. However, as discussed in the commentary, this is not guaranteed [2].
Description
© 2017 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords
Legionella
Citation
Whiley, H. Response to Comments on Whiley Legionella Risk Management and Control in Potable Water Systems: Argument for the Abolishment of Routine Testing. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 12. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 103.