SOUTHERN Downs’ hospital inpatients have been urged not to panic after about 15 hospitals and public health facilities returned positive legionella tests since the weekend.
Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service chief executive Dr Peter Bristow fronted the media last week to reveal tests conducted at 11 facilities across the Darling Downs had returned positive results.
“We had 350 samples examined across our 21 facilities,’’ Dr Bristow said.
“The hospitals and facilities where positive results were returned include Inglewood, Cherbourg, Goondiwindi, Wondai, Dalby, Meandarra, Miles, Oakey, Chinchilla, Toowoomba and Baillie Henderson Hospital”.
Positive tests have also been recorded at the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan and QE2 hospitals.
Test results from Texas, Warwick and Stanthorpe Hospitals were negative for legionella.
Testing was ordered by Health Minister Lawrence Springborg after it was revealed 66-year-old cancer patient John Pearson died after contracting Legionnaires Disease during a stay at the Wesley Hospital.
A 46-year-old woman remains in a stable condition in intensive care after also contracting the disease.
But both Mr Springborg and acting Chief Health Officer Dr Stephen Lambert said the positive tests did not pose a risk to human health with the chances of contracting the disease extremely rare.
Dr Lambert said as soon as a positive result was returned, the taps and water systems were isolated and cleansed to ensure the bacterium was eradicated.
The results of further tests across more than 300 hospitals and health facilities are not expected to be revealed until Friday, 28 June, when they will be released on a weekly basis until all testing is complete.
– Jonathon Howard
