Legionnaires' disease victim named:
Robert Air, 56, had been working as a builder in the area affected by the outbreak in Edinburgh
The man who was killed earlier this week in the major legionnaires' disease outbreak in Edinburgh has been named as Robert Air, a builder who died only hours after arriving at hospital.
As health officials in Edinburgh prepared for fresh cases, family members said that Air, 56, a father of two from the Seafield area of east Edinburgh, had complained of feelling ill after working as a builder in the area affected by the outbreak.
Health officials believe they have identified the most likely sources of the outbreak, at 16 industrial cooling towers at four sites spread across the south-west and west of the city, and had used a "shock treatment" earlier this week to kill off the bacteria.
On Wednesday, the Scottish health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, said there were now 40 confirmed and suspected cases. But after a sharp surge in new cases earlier this week, that rate had slowed to just eight on Wednesday.
The number of people critically ill in intensive care has fallen from 15 to 12, with two people now released from hospital and others being treated at home. Officials said an antibiotic treatment was showing great success in suppressing the disease.
Residents in the affected area are being sent leaflets about the outbreak, but reassured that the risks of contracting it are now very slight. It is one of the most serious outbreaks in the UK since seven people were killed and 172 cases reported in Barrow in Furness in 2002. Two people were killed and 22 infected in an outbreak in South Wales in 2010.
Air's brother, Ronald, told the Scotsman that his brother had previously been fit and healthy. "I spoke to Bert and he told me he was lying in front of the fire shivering and shivering and trying to get himself together. I told him to get the doctor out," he said.
"It was all over in 24 hours. It was too quick. I'm devastated. I keep thinking if he had gone to hospital sooner could something have been done?"
Robert Air had been working as a builder in Gorgie, part of the most heavily affected area, for J Smart & Company, on a lift shaft last week. He went into the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Tuesday, where he died just a few hours later.
Described by his brother as a "happy-go-lucky person", Air leaves a partner, Rena, and two children, Robert, 35, and Kelly, 29, as well as three brothers and a sister.
One of the 12 people in intensive care was identified in newspapers as Rick Gibb, a chartered surveyor, who had initially been given tablets for an upset stomach by his doctor.
His wife, Margaret, 61, said it "beggars belief" he was sent home. "The doctors now say he has legionnaires' disease, pneumonia and an infection in both lungs. I thought he was a goner. He was absolutely ashen. I thought I'd come home from the hospital a widow," she said.
The Health and Safety Executive, with environmental health officers from City of Edinburgh council, are investigating the source of the outbreak and are testing samples from the businesses identified.
Legal action against the firm responsible has not been ruled out. Prof Hugh Pennington, the leading bacteriologist from Aberdeen university, said the outbreak was very easily preventable.
"This is not an act of God. This is a failure of maintenance by someone and simply should not happen," he said.
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Robert Air, 56, had been working as a builder in the area affected by the outbreak in Edinburgh
The man who was killed earlier this week in the major legionnaires' disease outbreak in Edinburgh has been named as Robert Air, a builder who died only hours after arriving at hospital.
As health officials in Edinburgh prepared for fresh cases, family members said that Air, 56, a father of two from the Seafield area of east Edinburgh, had complained of feelling ill after working as a builder in the area affected by the outbreak.
Health officials believe they have identified the most likely sources of the outbreak, at 16 industrial cooling towers at four sites spread across the south-west and west of the city, and had used a "shock treatment" earlier this week to kill off the bacteria.
On Wednesday, the Scottish health secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, said there were now 40 confirmed and suspected cases. But after a sharp surge in new cases earlier this week, that rate had slowed to just eight on Wednesday.
The number of people critically ill in intensive care has fallen from 15 to 12, with two people now released from hospital and others being treated at home. Officials said an antibiotic treatment was showing great success in suppressing the disease.
Residents in the affected area are being sent leaflets about the outbreak, but reassured that the risks of contracting it are now very slight. It is one of the most serious outbreaks in the UK since seven people were killed and 172 cases reported in Barrow in Furness in 2002. Two people were killed and 22 infected in an outbreak in South Wales in 2010.
Air's brother, Ronald, told the Scotsman that his brother had previously been fit and healthy. "I spoke to Bert and he told me he was lying in front of the fire shivering and shivering and trying to get himself together. I told him to get the doctor out," he said.
"It was all over in 24 hours. It was too quick. I'm devastated. I keep thinking if he had gone to hospital sooner could something have been done?"
Robert Air had been working as a builder in Gorgie, part of the most heavily affected area, for J Smart & Company, on a lift shaft last week. He went into the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Tuesday, where he died just a few hours later.
Described by his brother as a "happy-go-lucky person", Air leaves a partner, Rena, and two children, Robert, 35, and Kelly, 29, as well as three brothers and a sister.
One of the 12 people in intensive care was identified in newspapers as Rick Gibb, a chartered surveyor, who had initially been given tablets for an upset stomach by his doctor.
His wife, Margaret, 61, said it "beggars belief" he was sent home. "The doctors now say he has legionnaires' disease, pneumonia and an infection in both lungs. I thought he was a goner. He was absolutely ashen. I thought I'd come home from the hospital a widow," she said.
The Health and Safety Executive, with environmental health officers from City of Edinburgh council, are investigating the source of the outbreak and are testing samples from the businesses identified.
Legal action against the firm responsible has not been ruled out. Prof Hugh Pennington, the leading bacteriologist from Aberdeen university, said the outbreak was very easily preventable.
"This is not an act of God. This is a failure of maintenance by someone and simply should not happen," he said.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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