2002 Barrow-in-Furness legionellosis outbreak

Disease outbreak in England November 2019 thumb|The alleyway between the Forum 28 and Wilkinson where the faulty AC unit was located The 2002 Barrow-in-Furness Legionnaires' disease outbreak was a fatal outbreak of Legionellosis which occurred in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.BENNETT E. ASHTON M. CALVERT N. CHALONER J. CHEESBROUGH J. EGAN J. FARRELL I. HALL I. HARRISON T. G. NAIK F. C. PARTRIDGE S. SYED Q. GENT R. N. Barrow-in-Furness: a large community legionellosis outbreak in the UK Epidemiology and Infection Cambridge University Press (CUP) 142 8 2013-10-11 0950-2688 10.1017/s0950268813002483 1763–1777 9151204 The first fatality occurred on 2 August 2002. 2 August 2002 Legionnaires' alert claims first victim https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2168893.stm BBC News Online The source of the bacteria was later found to be from steam coming out of a badly maintained air conditioning unit. The system was located in the council-run arts centre Forum 28, with the vent emitting the disease over a busy alleyway in the town centre. Ultimately seven people died and 172 cases were reported (a case fatality rate of around 4%), ranking as the second worst in British history and seventh worst globally by death count.Legionnaires' source officially traced BBC News Online 2002-08-20 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2205186.stm 2003-07-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20030814170447/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2205186.stm 14 August 2003 live The coroner for Furness and South Cumbria criticised the council for its failings with regard to health and safety at the conclusion of an inquest into the seven deaths.A Total Shambles North West Evening Mail 2007-06-12 http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=508368 2007-07-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20070623083652/http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=508368 2007-06-23 dead In 2006, council employee Gillian Beckingham and employer Barrow Borough Council were cleared of seven charges of manslaughter. Beckingham, the council senior architect, was fined £15,000 and the authority £125,000. The authority maintained that Beckingham was not responsible for the building or the defective plant and dismissed the building Technical Manager Kevin Borthwick. He was later re-instated to his position following a challenge by his union.Bug Death Council Worker Cleared BBC News Online 2006-07-31 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cumbria/5232086.stm 2007-07-21 The borough council was the first public body in the country to have faced corporate manslaughter charges. Beckingham maintained that a contract to maintain the plant was in place but failings of others meant that the work was never undertaken, nor was the lack of adequate maintenance pursued by those responsible for the building. Following the trials, the contractor responsible for maintaining the defective plant, Interserve, settled a £1.5 million claim by the Council for damages.http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/features_details.cfm?News_id=24043 Back in the Line of Fire 27 May 2005 Cirell Stephen Bennett John www.publicfinance.co.uk 2007-07-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20071006125830/http://www.cipfa.org.uk/publicfinance/features_details.cfm?News_id=24043 2007-10-06 deadhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/assets/docs/barrowreport.pdf Report of the public meetings into the legionella outbreak in Barrow-in-Furness Health and Safety Executive August 2002 13 May 2020 See also Cumbria List of Legionellosis outbreaks List of disasters of the United Kingdom and preceding states 2002 in the United Kingdom References 54.11223 N 3.22776 W type:event_region:GB title dms Category:2000s in Cumbria Category:2002 disasters in the United Kingdom Category:2002 disease outbreaks Category:2002 in England Category:Disasters in Cumbria Category:Disease outbreaks in England 2002 Legionnaires' disease outbreak Category:Legionellosis