THE GUARDIAN: Bacteria which can cause serious lung infection legionnaires’ disease found in water on Dorset barge
All asylum seekers being housed onboard a controversial barge are being removed because of potentially deadly bacteria in the water system, it has been confirmed.
Home Office sources said legionella had been identified on the Bibby Stockholm, the 222-bedroom hulk hired by the Home Office as part of a £1.6bn immigration deal.
The first asylum seekers boarded on Monday, and by Friday there were 39 onboard the vessel, which is docked in Portland Port, Dorset.
People can get lung infections, such as legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever, if they breathe in small droplets of water in the air that contain the bacteria. No one has so far been identified as contracting the disease. » | Rajeev Syal and Diane Taylor | Friday, August 11, 2023
What is legionella and what damage can it cause?: We look at the health hazard of the bacteria discovered on the Bibby Stockholm barge and who is most at risk »
