These days the health and well-being of staff in the workplace isn't just desirable, it's a legal necessity.
In all there could be as many as 28 waterborne threats having a field day in the water concealed in your building's DEAD ZONES. If that toxic soup is sucked back into your main water supply you and your staff will soon know about it.
At best, the resulting illnesses will be thoroughly unpleasant. At worst they will be life-threatening.
There are two ways you can find the DEAD ZONES in your building. Either wait until disaster strikes, and clean up the mess afterwards. Or launch a pre-emptive strike with a full system audit from Arthur McKay.
Here are some of the potentially life-threatening bacteria you could be sharing your water supply with:
Legionnaires' Disease
Legionnaires' Disease is a form of severe pneumonia that carries with it a fatality rate of approximately 10% to 15% in otherwise healthy individuals.
Cholera
Cholera is an acute diarrhoea illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons have
severe disease characterised by profuse watery
diarrhoea, vomiting and leg cramps. In these
persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to
dehydration and shock. Without treatment,
death can occur within hours.
Weil's Disease
Weil's Disease is a bacterial infection carried in rats' urine, which contaminates water and wet riverbanks. The bacteria do not survive for long in dry conditions. It can be a serious illness requiring hospital treatment, and can lead to kidney or liver
failure. Weil's Disease is a notifiable illness.
The bacteria are absorbed through the skin or
mucious membranes of the mouth and eyes.
It gets into the bloodstream very easily if you have
a minor cut on your skin or feet, if you become immersed.
Cryptosporidium
This is a parasite infection which is widespread in the United Kingdom. Enhanced personal hygiene
should be encouraged at all times. The symptoms are an acute diarrhea illness, commonly of a two to three week duration from which the patient
recovers fully unless there are underlying conditions.
Hepatitis A (Infectious Hepatitis)
Hepatitis A is a virus infection of the liver, which can vary from a mild or inapparent illness to, rarely, a severe disabling disease lasting several months. Infection has been caused by swallowing water during water sports. The incubation period
varies from two to six months after swallowing the virus.
The onset of the illness is abrupt, with loss of appetite,
fever, nausea and abdominal discomfort, followed
within a few days by jaundice.
Gastro-intestinal Disturbance
The commonest illness associated with water sports is mild gastro-intestinal disturbance (tummy upset), which can occasionally lead to diarrhoea and vomiting. Flu-like symptoms and mild respiratory symptoms may also occur, as may
eye and ear symptoms. These generally resolve
rapidly without treatment.