Daily Mail Headline; says: 'A man who worked in a lab at the centre of the foot and mouth outbreak has been found to be infected with Legionnaires' disease. The Health Protection Agency said today that additional tests are being carried out at the government-run Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright following the discovery. The bacterial disease, which can cause pneumonia, is spread through the air in droplets of contaminated water, often from air conditioning or showers. It can be fatal.Water samples taken from the laboratory are being checked. Officials will also trace everywhere the man has been in the 10 to 14 days before he fell ill.
A second disease inside the exclusion zone thrown around the lab and neighbouring Merial vaccines factory could raise fresh fears about bio-security at the Surrey site. Early findings from the investigation, which looked at the laboratory building in which the man worked, suggest the institute was carrying out all necessary maintenance work.
