DUBAI // Bacteria that can cause deadly legionnaires' disease are present in the water supply of some homes, experts say.
More than a third of the samples, obtained from households where people have suffered unexplained health complaints as well as dental clinics, which are required to test regularly, proved positive for Legionella pneumophila.
The bacterium is dormant during the cool winter months, but thrives in temperatures above 25°C, making it a hazard during the summer.
Although often associated with air-conditioning systems, the bug can thrive in water, including roof tanks, taps, pipes and showers.
The flu-like disease is caught by inhaling droplets of infected water. It can be fatal, although it is usually not dangerous to healthy people.
Dr Ulrich Wernery, the scientific director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, said of 147 water samples it had tested in a six-year period from 2004, 53 were positive.
Only three of the 21 samples tested so far this year have been positive, but that number is expected to rise as the weather gets warmer.
Two of the positive samples were sent by Homeinspections, a Dubai company which specialises in decontaminating water and air-conditioning systems.
Joe Coleman, the owner of Homeinspections, said his team discovered the bacteria in two properties. One is a high-rise building in Dubai Marina the other was a villa in Al Barsha.
There are eight types of Legionella bacteria, although only one, L.pneumophila, causes disease in people. Mr Coleman said temperatures between 25°C and 35°C were "the optimum conditions" for the bacteria to multiply.
This month, his company decontaminated the water system of a three-bedroom villa in Al Barsha.
The tenant told The National that the incident had caused strain between him and his landlord. "It is a new compound of 12 villas and we have been living there for over a year," said the tenant, who did not want to be named.
The tenant decided to test the water as he was concerned that some form of bacterial contamination could be the cause of asthma-like symptoms suffered by one of his children.
"The tests came out highly positive for L.pneumophila in the water," he said, although no link had been established between the child's ill health and the contamination. The tenant paid the Dh4,800 (US$1,300) clean-up bill as his landlord denied responsibility.
However, the tenant suspects that the problem could have started as the villa was being completed. "I know they [contractors] do not clean up properly on handover," he said.
He suspects the contamination could have started from the water tank on the roof of the building.
Dr Eivind Linge, a general practitioner at the Scandinavian Dental Clinic, said the fact that water tanks were on roofs, and thus exposed to heat, "is a very big health hazard".
The clinic, like other dental offices in Dubai, tested its water and was monitored by Dubai Municipality, he said.
The Emirates' desert climate makes it harder to control bacterial contamination in summer, with complicated procedures required.
"Now in the summer, we shock-chlorinate our water system once every month," said Dr Linge.
But he was quick to point out that the prevalence of L.pneumophila and other bacteria would not immediately translate into large numbers of people getting sick.
The number of positives is not dramatically out of line with previous findings elsewhere. A 1980s study of hot-tap water systems in Chicago found that 30 per cent were contaminated, while a German study put the figure at 28 per cent.
Dr Tasmeen Khan, a family doctor at The City Hospital in Dubai, said she was not aware of any increased illnesses caused by the bacteria.
Any patients with a form of pneumonia which did not behave in the "normal manner" would be tested for the bacteria, she said.
"It is impossible to say what the prevalence or incidence is because it is not a reportable disease, we do not report to the Ministry of Health as we do other diseases," she said.
"Of course, it is something I consider with cases of pneumonia but no more than I have done when I worked in the United States."
Dr Khan said it was likely that the elderly and those with depleted immune systems were more vulnerable, but no more so than they would be to other bacteria.
"People do not need to go out and test their water systems. You have no way of knowing if you are going to get it, you could be exposed every day and be fine," she said.
Redha Salman, the director of the public health and safety department of Dubai Municipality, said it monitored hotels and dental clinics for Legionella contamination.
In addition, municipality inspectors make surprise spot checks, with around 50 samples being tested per month. He was not willing to say how many of these samples are contaminated.
The same checks, however, are not made on residential buildings. "At the moment, we are implementing it at high-risk areas," said Mr Salman.
Only buildings where proper maintenance was an issue were at risk, he said. "Dubai is known for buildings that are well-maintained," said Mr Salman.
Both Mr Coleman and Dr Linge said there was little consistency on maintenance standards and scheduling.
"The developer might be paying but the companies cost-cut," said Mr Coleman. "We need to get some form of consistency of cleaning services."
Dr Linge said clear guidelines on how facilities should be designed and maintained would help to reduce any health risk.
"You look around Dubai and Sharjah and you will find many clinics that do not have the capacity to comply with these things at all," Dr Linge said. "It would be interesting to check the quality of the water in these places."
@Email:vtodorova@thenational.ae
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Premier League results
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MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
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Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
