HC Deb 23 May 1988 vol 134 c94W
Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what discussions have taken place between his Department and British Broadcasting Corporation management regarding the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at Broadcasting house;

(2) if he will hold a public inquiry into the causes of the outbreak of Legionnaires disease at BBC Broadcasting house; and if he will make a statement;

(3) if he will call for a report from the chief medical officer about the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at BBC Broadcasting house;

(4) what information he has about the origins and extent of recent outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease at BBC Broadcasting house.

Mrs. Currie

At the beginning of the outbreak an infection control committee was set up comprising the medical officer for environmental health for the City of Westminster, the communicable disease surveillance centre, the public health laboratory service and representatives from the BBC. The Department has been kept very closely in touch with the handling of the outbreak and contacted all doctors and health authorities early this month to help ensure that any possible cases were identified.

Legionella bacteria of the type responsible for the outbreak were found in the BBC cooling tower which was shut down and thoroughly disinfected. Other cooling towers in the area have also been checked.

On Friday 20 May there were 44 confirmed cases of the disease, of whom two have died, and a further 44 suspected cases.

The Department continues to monitor the outbreak closely. I understand a number of investigations by the responsible authority are currently under way.

There are no plans to hold a public inquiry into the outbreak. The committee of inquiry into the outbreak of legionnaires' disease in Stafford in April 1985 made two reports. The second of these, published in December 1987, made general recommendations about measures to reduce the danger of further outbreaks of the disease a nd the departments concerned, together with other interested bodies, are following up these recommendations.