15 Jun 2012
Legionnaires’ disease has claimed the life of a second individual following the outbreak in Edinburgh.
The death was confirmed by NHS Lothian after a man passed away at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
He was said to have had underlying health conditions but was one of the confirmed cases in the outbreak that began at the start of the month.
Most of the outbreak cases are said to have started from a pharmaceuticals firm in the area. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has since served it with two improvement notices.
Part of the conditions included a deep clean of one of the Macfarlan Smith’s cooling towers plus access to it so it can be inspected.
North British Distillery Company, located in the same area, was also served with an HSE improvement notice. It was rapped for having an inadequate biocide control programme for one of its cooling towers.
Improvement notices in no way imply negligence with regards to the outbreak. In fact, it may never be known what the source of the outbreak was.
Copyright Press Association 2012