The warning comes after health experts apparently discovered that professional drivers are five times more likely to be infected with the dangerous legionella bug. The suggestion is that legionella will thrive in the warm, stagnant environment of the windscreen washer bottle if screenwash is not added to discourage its proliferation. According to the survey, legionella bacterium were found in one in five cars that did not have the additive, but in no cars that did. Legionella infection is contracted when small droplets of contaminated water are breathed in (hence it's long term association with cooling towers, etc). It is not spread person to person.
It is feared that around a fifth of legionnaires' disease cases may arise from this perculiar type of exposure. The findings come from a Health Protection Agency-led study, which looked at why people at the wheel were more likely to be infected. Most at risk were found to be those driving a van, people who drive through industrial areas, and people who often had the car window open.
The study's authors said:
"Not adding screenwash to windscreen wiper fluid is a previously unidentified risk factor and appears to be strongly associated with community acquired sporadic cases of legionnaires' disease."
Do you want my view?
In case you did, it is
"It costs little to avoid this potential source of trouble to your health and possibly to your business. Add screenwash to your windscreen wash bottle and forget about reading this article. Life is too short for such worries"!
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