30 de jul. de 2015

NYC investigates Legionnaire's outbreak

Nearly three dozen cases of Legionnaires' disease, a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia spread through the air, have been reported in the Bronx over the last two weeks in what the Health Department is calling a concerning "unusual increase" in cases.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Legionnaires-Disease-Outbreak-New-York-City-Bronx-Health-Fever-Cough-Chills-319433211.html

NYC investigates Legionnaire's outbreak


23 de jul. de 2015

‘No excuse’ for Legionnaires’ outbreak, president says July 21, 2015


For the first time since the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs Healthcare System revealed in November 2012 that it had a Legionnaires’ outbreak that later was tied to six deaths, President Barack Obama spoke about the “tragedy” and expressed remorse to the families of the victims during his speech Tuesday at the VFW convention in Downtown.
The outbreak “was a tragedy, and whenever there are missteps, there is no excuse,” Mr. Obama said during his speech to about 5,000 members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and their families. “So our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones.”
Then later Tuesday, during a news conference with reporters, VA Secretary Robert McDonald, who was appointed just a year ago, apologized to veterans and the victims’ families.
“On behalf of VA, I’m deeply sorry for what happened,” said Mr. McDonald, who did not mention the outbreak during his own speech at the convention but made it part of his prepared remarks during the news conference later in the day. “I’m sorry to the veterans who were affected and their families. To the families who lost loved ones and to those who lost confidence in the VA health care system, I apologize.”
That was also the first time Mr. McDonald has spoken publicly about the outbreak.
Mr. Obama and Mr. McDonald tried to make the case in their remarks that the VA had made significant changes to the Pittsburgh VA in response to the outbreak and made the hospital system safer as a result.
While families have long sought the president’s and VA secretary’s acknowledgement of their loss and acceptance of the VA’s role in the outbreak, the comments Tuesday came too late for some family members.
“It’s good to hear,” said Clint Compston, son of the second fatality during the outbreak, Clark Compston, 74, from Aliquippa, who died Nov. 14, 2011. “But [if you’re Mr. Obama] you’re in a roomful of veterans in Pittsburgh, so you know the question is going to be brought up by someone, so you’d better bring it up first so you look good.”
Judy Nicklas, daughter-in-law of the last fatality, William Nicklas, 87, of Hampton, said it is true that the VA eventually fired former Pittsburgh VA director Terry Wolf and disciplined several other employees.
“But first of all, it took them a long time to make some changes, and only because they were pressured,” Mrs. Nicklas said.
What the president said “was just lip service to what they think veterans in Pittsburgh and across the nation wanted to hear, and after we weren’t able to get a response out of the White House all these years.”
Asked at his news conference why the Pittsburgh VA and central VA had spent years trying to blame the outbreak on a water treatment system and failed protocols that needed to be revamped, Mr. McDonald related it to his experience working in corporate America.
“When I got to the VA, I found a culture that was very insular,” said Mr. McDonald, the former CEO of Procter & Gamble. “It’s not unusual that in an organization that gets in crisis that the organization becomes very inward looking, becomes more bureaucratic, does more of the same things it has done in the past. The leadership’s job is to change the culture and to get people to look outside.”
He continued, “In business, if a business is in trouble, what happens to people is they stop visiting the customer, people stop doing training. And this is what I found at the VA.”
Now, he said, “We try to create a culture of: We own the problems, and try to fix them.”
While the families did not feel any solace in the remarks from either the president or the secretary, there was a possibility that a more personal touch might change that.
Neither Mr. McDonald nor his predecessor, Eric Shinseki, has visited with the families to apologize directly and talk with them about the outbreak, despite repeated requests to Mr. Shinseki.
Mr. McDonald, who previously gave out his personal cell phone number to veterans to call him with problems, acknowledged he had not met with the families and said: “But if that is important to those families, they should have my phone number just like everyone else. I’d be happy to meet with them. I’m in Pittsburgh frequently.”
Mr. McDonald’s wife grew up in the area; they got married at the Old Stone Church in Monroeville; and his in-laws still live here, as does an adult daughter.
When told what Mr. McDonald said about contacting him, Mrs. Nicklas said she was going to take him up on the offer.
“You bet I’m going to call him,” she said.

Obama tells veterans - LEGIONELLA


President Obama told a national convention of military veterans in Pittsburgh that the deal to cage Iran's nuclear weapons program makes another war in the Middle East less likely.
The address marked Obama's 29th visit to Pennsylvania and his first public acknowledgment of a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System. The outbreak killed at least six veterans and infected at least 16 others.
The VA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak began in February 2011 and ended in November 2012. But a Tribune-Review investigation uncovered water samples that showed alarmingly high levels of Legionella bacteria in the hospitals' water systems dating to at least 2007. The investigation found several veterans who likely contracted the disease at the hospital before the outbreak's ostensible beginning but were never told about it.
“That was a tragedy, and whenever there are any missteps, there is no excuse. So our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones,” Obama said.
The VA fired former Pittsburgh director Terry Gerigk Wolf for her role in the outbreak, Obama noted. Investigations into the outbreak prompted a nationwide overhaul of VA regulations for Legionella prevention, as well as a federal law and VA policy change requiring hospitals to report disease outbreaks to state health authorities.
“The safety measures now in place are some of the strongest in the nation, and patient safety is a top priority at VA hospitals because we have to prevent anything like that from ever happening again,” Obama said.

LIVRO "PLANO DE SEGURANÇA DA ÁGUA NA VISÃO DE ESPECIALISTAS"


A SETRI vai publicar em 2015 o e book Plano de Segurança da Água na Visão de Especialistas.
Este e book terá a participação de vários autores do Brasil, Portugal e Reino Unido.
Teremos inclusive um capítulo bem interessante sobre a aplicação do PSA nos jogos Olímpicos de Londres.
Nosso objetivo é levar aos profissionais mais conhecimento sobre o tema PSA.

16 de jul. de 2015

Legionnaires disease from hot water cylinder results in amputations

Two people in Hawke's Bay have contracted Legionnaires disease from water in their own homes with one so badly afflicted she has had her feet amputated.
Now the District Health Board is warning people against turning down their hot water cylinders to save money.
Hawke's Bay District Health Board's medical officer of health Nicholas Jones said the woman, aged in her forties, was admitted to Hawke's Bay Hospital on June 16 and is still in intensive care. The other victim, a man in his eighties, was admitted in late April and discharged in early May.
Tests on the water in both victims' homes found the presence of legionella bacteria, which can cause legionellosis, also known as Legionnaires' disease, which is a potentially fatal type of pneumonia..
It is contracted by inhaling water in the form of vapour or steam containing the bacteria. 
Legionella bacteria can grow in water temperatures of 20-45degC. They thrive at tempertures of 32-44degC, but can't live at 60degC or higher.
Jones said the bacteria was found in the woman's hot water cylinder and in the man's water system, with his hot water cylinder a possible source.
He advised people to check their hot water cylinders were set to 60degC.
"We'd recommend you do not try to save money by turning your hot water cylinder temperature down because you will be running the risk of developing a severe illness in doing so," he said. 
He said the woman had been unwell for about four days before being taken to hospital.

10 de jul. de 2015

Quem faz PLANO DE SEGURANÇA DA ÁGUA no BRASIL ?

BENEFÍCIOS DO PLANO DE SEGURANÇA DA ÁGUA PARA EDIFICAÇÕES E INDÚSTRIAS
• Identificar perigos e riscos pertinentes
• Atitude preventiva
• Minimizar os riscos à saúde da água de consumo humano, aspiração e contato
• Plano de ação, melhoria e gerenciamento de riscos
• Envolvimento da operação
• Entendimento do processo
• Proteger contra a alegação de negligência com a água
• Cumprir com a legislação em vigor
• Proporcionar maior controle dos sistemas de água
• Retorno Sobre o Investimento (ROI)

8 de jul. de 2015

EXPO ARQUITETURA SUSTENTÁVEL - SETRI


SETRI participando do Expo Arquitetura Sustentável com a palestra sobre PLANO DE SEGURANÇA DA ÁGUA PARA EDIFICAÇÕES E INDÚSTRIAS.

http://www.expoarquiteturasustentavel.com.br/Conferencia/Programa/11-de-Novembro/

7 de jul. de 2015

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188

Após muitos anos é publicado o Standard 188 - LEGIONELLOSIS: RISK MANAGEMENT FOR BUILDING WATER SYSTEMS.

A SETRI está capacitada para a realização da Avaliação de Risco conforme a 188.

6 de jul. de 2015

LEGIONELLA 39 ANOS - 1976/2015

Foi em julho de 1976 que os primeiros casos de pneumonia atípica ocorreram e após um ano de estudos pelo CDC/USA foi descoberta a bactéria LEGIONELLA.

São 39 anos e no Brasil ainda pouco se faz ou se quer fazer.





fonte: LEGIONELLA NA VISÃO DE ESPECIALISTAS
www.legionellaespecialistas.com.br

1 de jul. de 2015

ABNT - CE-02:146.03 Comissão de Estudo de Sistemas Prediais Hidraúlico-sanitário para Água Fria e Água Quente

A SETRI trabalhando na comissão, levado nosso conhecimento para as questões relativas a saúde das pessoas.