A warning has been issued to people who own hot tubs following a spike in cases of a potentially fatal disease. Over the past 12 months there has been an increase in the number of confirmed Legionnaires’ disease cases reported by Public Health Wales, with some cases associated with hot tubs and spa-pools.
The disease is a lung infection people can catch by inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It is usually caught in places like hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria has got into the water supply. It is a rare but potentially life-threatening infection where death occur in approximately 10-15% of otherwise healthy individuals.
You can also inhale the bacteria from other sources of water like showers, taps and toilets. Symptoms include a ‘flu-like’ illness with a rapid fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, loss of appetite, breathlessness and chest pain. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also occur. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
