By Victoria Stone-Meadows
A health warning has been issued over an increase in cases of Legionnaires’ disease that is believed to have originated around Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre.
Centre management has moved to assure customers that there are no cooling towers at Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre, and the centre is not the source of the outbreak.
The warning has been issued to health professionals and general practitioners to keep an eye out for the symptoms and not as a warning to the general public.
There have been four cases of Legionnaires’ disease detected in the area around the shopping centre since February.
A number of cooling towers in the vicinity have been tested for the Legionella bacteria but none have returned positive results to date.
There have been 47 cases of Legionella infection across Victoria in 2017 so far – compared to 28 cases for the same period in 2016.
People aged over 50, smokers, heavy drinkers, people with diabetes or chronic lung disease and those with an impaired immune system are most at risk from contracting the illness.
Anyone who suspects they may have contacted any atypical illness should contact their doctor.
