Analysis: ‘This is not an act of God, this is a failure of maintenance’

SCOTLAND’s leading bacteria expert has told how the outbreak should not have happened in a modern city like Edinburgh.Professor Hugh Pennington said the scale of the outbreak was “most unusual”.

He said: “The most likely source seems to be the cooling towers. Businesses, no matter what size, know what is needed to maintain these towers and ensure they are safe.

“It is not rocket science to test and maintain them and does not take too much time or money.

“It is most unusual in a modern city like Edinburgh to have an issue like this, as it is really basic procedure keeping these towers safe. Towers should not be getting rusty and not being tested,” he said. “Any company which fails to do so really is being neglectful and are, in a nutshell, putting people’s lives at risk, which it obviously totally unacceptable, and they’d need to be held accountable.”

Prof Pennington said: “This is not an act of God, this is a failure of maintenance by someone and simply should not happen.”

He said he would be surprised if any of the towers found to have spread the bacteria belonged to a multi-national firm, such as a major distiller or brewer.

They would have microbiologists on site who would regularly carry out checks and ensure safety.

He said: “In my opinion, this is far more likely to have come from a smaller operation where routine maintenance has slipped by the wayside or been overlooked.”

The expert said people did not have to live or work in the area to become ill; just walking past one of the towers when the bacteria were in the air would be enough to infect someone.

He said: “It is a matter of bad luck, you could walk past with the air blowing in your direction and breathe in as normal, and that could be enough.”

Prof Pennington told how once the towers were deeply cleaned they should no longer be able to spread the bug.

He said it would be “over the top” to ask the public to stay away from the suspected source areas, as the worst was likely to be already past.

The microbiologist added: “All being well, the towers are disinfected now and safe.

“That does not mean no more cases, it would just mean no-one could acquire the disease now. But it takes up to two weeks for symptoms to show, so there could be more cases this week but, hopefully, that will be it.”

Prof Pennington said it was the biggest outbreak Scotland had seen to date.