What is the acceptable upper limit of Legionella in cooling towers?
We are skeptical that cooling towers are a major source for disseminating Legionella and we predict that many community outbreaks linked to cooling towers will ultimately be shown to be from drinking water. This is based on the fact that all hospital outbreaks originally linked to cooling towers years ago are now known to have emanated from the hospital drinking water. For more details, download the following articles from our Publication section (Muder, Arch Int Med 86, Yu Am J Med 93, Sabria Lancet Infect Dis 2002). Nevertheless, because of concern about litigation involving Legionnaires disease, we receive numerous inquiries about cooling tower maintenance. Moreover, many water treatment specialists use the service of our Special Pathogens Laboratory for cultures of Legionella in cooling towers. Neither the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention nor the Environmental Protection Agency specify a minimum contaminant level for Legionella for cooling towers. Outbreak investiga
