Treating and Preventing Legionnaires'

How is Legionnaires’ Disease Treated?

Legionnaires' disease is a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is treated with antibiotics. It should be taken seriously and treated promptly. Some people will get very sick and require hospitalization. If your breathing is severely impaired, you may require medical ventilation to help your body get enough oxygen. The sooner treatment begins the less likely you are to develop serious complications including respiratory failure, septic shock, kidney failure or even death.  

How Can I Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease?

There is no vaccine to prevent Legionnaires’ disease. The best way to prevent Legionnaires' disease is to reduce the risk of Legionella growth and spread. 

At Home

There are steps you can take to reduce your risk of exposure in your home:

• Tap water is for drinking only.

Your tap water that comes out of the kitchen or bathroom sink is monitored by your water utility service to ensure it is safe to drink. That does not mean there are no germs in it. This is why when you do a nasal rinse, the instructions are to use distilled water vs tap water. Ingesting tap water is considered safe; inhaling it into your nasal sinuses is not.

• Flush your pipes if you have been away.

Germs are more likely to grow if water is sitting still in your pipes, for example if you do not use a faucet, toilet or shower often. This is more likely to happen if you do not use the water for a week or longer. If you haven't used a faucet for that amount of time, let it run for two minutes with cold water and turn it off. Then switch to hot water and let it run until it warms up before turning it off. 

• Maintain your well water.

It is your responsibility to maintain safe tap water if you have a private well on your property. At least once per year you should test your well water for harmful germs or chemicals. 

• Nebulizer, CPAP Machines and Humidifier Use

Use distilled or sterile water - you can also boil and then cool tap water – in your nebulizer, CPAP or humidifier. Clean routinely and replace parts as indicated in the instructions to further lower your risk.

In Public Buildings and Public Hot Tubs

The best way to guard against the disease is for business and residential owners and managers to make sure their buildings’ water systems are well maintained. It is a good practice to avoid exposure to water sources such as decorative fountains and hot tubs if you are unsure how well they are maintained.

The CDC has developed a toolkit that can help building owners and managers reduce their buildings’ risk for growing and spreading Legionella.