Legionnaires’ disease has killed 16 people in Poland and been found on the asylum seeker barge – but what is it?

Published

2 years ago

September 1, 2023

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The bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease has been found in Poland near the Ukrainian border and on the barge due to house asylum seekers in Dorset.

Sixteen people have died and 140 others have been infected in Rzeszow after Legionella was discovered in the city’s water pipeline system.

It was also discovered on board the Bibby Stockholm, the floating accommodation due to hold asylum seekers currently stationed in Portland.

Where is Legionella usually found and how do you catch it?

Legionella is the bacteria found in water droplets that causes Legionnaires’ disease.

It’s usually caught in the water systems of places such as hotels, hospitals and offices, which have periods of not being used.

You become infected if you breathe in droplets. This normally happens through air conditioning systems, taps, showers, swimming pools, hot tubs and humidifiers.

It isn’t usually contracted through drinking water, coming into contact with another infected person, or from ponds, lakes or rivers.

It was first discovered in 1977 as the cause of a serious pneumonia outbreak at an American Legion centre in Philadelphia the year before, which is where it gets its name.

What are the symptoms and how is it treated?

Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection which can result in the following symptoms:

Cough
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
High temperature
Flu-like symptoms

Most people who contract it are taken to hospital, where they are given intravenous antibiotics and oxygen through a mask or machine to help them breathe.

Once stable, people can be discharged and given a one to three-week course of oral antibiotics to take at home.

Although most people make a full recovery after a few weeks, for those with underlying conditions it can be serious – and sometimes fatal.

All cases need to be treated quickly to avoid complications, which include respiratory failure, acute kidney failure and septic shock.

16 dead in Poland

There have been at least 156 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Rseszow, Poland, including 16 fatal ones.

The people who have died were elderly and had underlying health conditions, the authorities have said.

Rseszow is 50 miles from the Ukrainian border and a key transit hub for international military support for the country’s forces. Both British and US troops are currently stationed there. Prince William visited them there earlier this year.

Lab tests confirmed the bacteria in water pipelines but the authorities are still looking for the source of the infections.

Chlorine is being used to disinfect 620 miles of pipelines, with residents assured water will still be safe to drink.

Experts think the bacteria could have spread during the recent heatwave. Legionella multiplies faster in temperatures of between 20C and 50C (68F and 122F).

Migrants forced to leave barge

Legionella was confirmed on board the Bibby Stockholm in early August.

It has since emerged that 39 asylum seekers were on board the vessel for four days in spite of the presence of the bacteria.

They were removed by the Home Office as a “precautionary measure”, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman insisting the floating accommodation is safe.

But both the asylum seekers themselves and the Fire Brigade Union have expressed concerns, with the latter taking legal action over claims they are being “recklessly endangered” by responding to incidents on the barge.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

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2 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

4 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

11 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.