298
Legionella
is a bacterium present in the environment that lives
predominantly in water. When water is volatized the bacteria goes with the
droplets.
Legionella
can yet be present in the air and use powder particles
as contagion mode. The bacterium becomes active by being in contact
with the lungs of those persons who are susceptible to become ill, with low
immunity, for example.
Once aspirated, the
Legionella
bacterium causes lung infection – a kind
of pneumonia – called Legionellosis or Legionnaires disease. It received
this name because it was first identified in the United States in 1977, when
an outbreak of this kind of pneumonia attacked members of the American
Legion.
Legionella
attacks mostly those people with vulnerable health
conditions, such as children, elderly and ill people. Data from the Brazilian
Social Security indicate that in one year, on average, we have 2 million and
300 thousand hospitalizations caused by pneumonia in Brazil. But still
there is not enough data to know how many cases are caused by
Legionella
bacteria, which if not diagnosed and treated specifically, can lead to the
death of the patient.
Room temperature between 36° and 40° C is ideal for the reproduction
of
Legionella
bacteria. They can be present, according to public health
experts, in common environments of daily life, such as water tanks, showers,
carwash facilities, water heated by solar systems, air conditioning units,
saunas, swimming pools, fountains, acclimatizers (fans with water vapor
sprays), humidifiers, among others.
Air is an essential element to the human life and life would extinguish
if deprived of air. At indoor environments, where people stay longer, the
