Staff and patients at St Luke’s hospital had a lucky escape earlier this month when routine checks made to the air conditioning systems showed the presence of legionella, the microbe which causes Legionnaires disease.

Although there are no risks of contracting legionella from domestic air conditioners, stagnant water found in the cooling towers of large systems could harbour dangerous bacteria. Only last year there were 10 cases of Legionnaires disease in Malta, but fortunately no deaths.

In the latest incident, the traces were detected during preventive tests carried out at St Luke’s hospital and, following the discovery, the system’s cooling towers were cleaned and disinfected completely. It was confirmed that neither patients nor staff was at any risk of infection.

Legionnaires disease is a form of pneumonia that may be transferred through air conditioning systems and affects the lungs. It has been confirmed that in most outbreaks the source of infection was the water or air conditioning system in a large public building. Infection follows the inhalation of droplets of heavily contaminated water (from air conditioning outlets, showers, public fountains, mist machines and the like).

One Maltese male who knows what it’s like to be struck down with Legionnaires disease counts himself lucky to be alive. In his early 40’s, he had been exposed to an air conditioning system for a prolonged period of six hours at a stretch. He began feeling unwell almost immediately and after two days a high temperature set in, plus pain in the chest.

In this man’s case, the severity of his illness was not immediately recognised and, since it was wintertime, it was mistaken for a severe bout of flu. When, after a couple of days he started losing his ability to walk, eat and dress himself, he was hospitalised. His situation became progressively worse until he was rushed to the Intensive Therapy Unit.

He remained there for three weeks, three days of which were spent in a fight for life. Although all the symptoms indicated Legionnaires disease, the case could not be confirmed as such. Fortunately, after a lengthy rehabilitation period, he has made a full recovery, although he and his family will never forget the trauma.

With more air conditioning systems being set up in various buildings around our islands, it is not surprising that people are wondering exactly how these facilities are affecting our health.

Sick Building Syndrome - a collection of symptoms sometimes reported by people who work in modern office buildings – has been at least partly attributed to the demise of natural ventilation. Symptoms include loss of energy, headaches and dry, itchy eyes, nose and throat. Although the cause of such manifestations is unknown, it has been openly attributed to air conditioning.

One sufferer confirmed that, "I used to feel well while actually in the office, but once back home, I would just collapse and want to sleep, even though I worked only half-days." He stated that he didn’t feel the symptoms when he wasn’t at work and could not attribute the feeling to any strenuous work or stressful situations.