This paper summarises the modes of contamination of Legionnaires' Disease (LD) so as to allay fears and misconceptions on LD. Isolation of Legionella in a typical hotel and a summary of LD cases in Hong Kong demonstrate the potential risks of LD infection in building services in such a semi-tropical climate. The Hong Kong Code of Practice is compared with other codes. It is postulated that the key to maintaining water services so as to minimise risk is to reconcile environmental effectiveness with cost-effectiveness. The optimum operational range of cooling water temperature in cooling towers illustrates this reconciliation.
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