Climate Change May Be Causing an Increase in Legionnaires Disease Outbreaks

If you don't live in an area where Legionnaires disease is a known problem, you may be unfamiliar with the bacterial infection that causes intense, and sometimes fatal, illnesses in those who come into contact with it.

The bacteria-born disease is typically spread in large buildings that rely on commercial grade air conditioning units to keep temperatures cool. That's because the bacteria takes hold in the water cooling tanks of these systems.

Once the water is vaporized, those tiny water droplets are spread through the air, where they are inhaled by people, allowing the infection to take root.

Climate change is helping spread Legionnaires thanks to lower quality water being used in the systems, and the increased need to run these systems for longer thanks to rising temperatures, creating the perfect circumstances for outbreaks like Legionnaires to spread.

Some of the extreme weather created by climate change is giving the bacteria that cause Legionnaire's disease, Legionella, exactly what it needs to thrive, according to Wired. Excessive heat, longer stretches of warm weather, and increased humidity are all fuel for the bacteria, giving them the perfect environment to reproduce.

This warm weather not only helps the bacteria to grow, but it also increases people's reliance on the very air conditioning systems that spread Legionnaire's disease.

Increased rainfall also plays a role, both by creating the stagnant water where the bacteria lives and through the flooding that allows the tainted water to get into community water supplies.

Unfortunately, Wired notes that it's low-income regions that are most likely to be at risk, since those cooling systems are more likely to be neglected and poorly maintained, allowing for more Legionnaire's disease outbreaks in these areas.

This news isn't a shock to those in the medical field, however, since a 2015 entry in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization journal predicted an increase in these types of illnesses, saying that climate change was likely to cause an increase in Legionnaires ' disease thanks to an estimated increase in reliance on indoor cooling systems.

Knowing how much easier Legionnaires' disease can spread, it's important to recognize the symptoms of an infection. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disease is a more advanced form of pneumonia, and it presents with symptoms that include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Diarrhea
• Confusion

Those who are over the age of 50, former smokers, people with a compromised immune system, and those who have had a recent stay in a hospital or long-term care facility are especially at risk.

One in 10 people who contract Legionnaire's disease will die from the illness. But the news isn't all bad; only 18,000 people are hospitalized with the illness each year, and not everyone who comes into contact with the bacteria will actually fall ill.

Additionally, residential air condition systems traditionally don't use the same type of water-cooling reservoirs as commercial ones, which means that the system in an individual home doesn't hold the bacteria or spread the disease.