Prayers offered for legionnaires victims
The town at the centre of a massive outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in Britain was today saying prayers for those affected.
Churches across Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, were offering their thoughts for the 59 men and women currently in hospital with either confirmed or suspected cases of the bug.
Vicars in churches across the town were also expected to pray for the dozens others who may become ill in the coming two weeks and the hundreds currently working day and night to care for them.
Rural Dean of Barrow, Canon Peter Mann, said the town was slowly coming to terms with the fact it had become the centre of one of the biggest outbreaks in the UK in recent years.
"People in the town are mystified and worried but I am quite reassured now that the source has been found," Mr Mann said.
"In churches across the town, we will be saying prayers for everyone and we hope and pray it does not get too much worse and there are no more victims," he added.
Yesterday, public health officials said they were confident they had traced the source of the outbreak.
Forum 28, a council-run arts and civic centre had been closed off and investigations were being carried out to see whether poor maintenance was part of the cause.
Professor John Ashton, regional director of public health, said: "Looking at the maintenance and servicing of the plant, it identifies the fact that for a long time the environmental health side of things has tended not to be as strong as it should be."
Asked directly if there had been a discrepancy maintaining facilities at Forum 28, he said: "There may be an issue there."
Some 36 people have now been confirmed to have contracted the disease, 12 of whom were in intensive care in hospitals across the north west of England.
A further 23 adults were awaiting test results after being admitted to hospital with suspected cases of the disease.
Around 130 people are expected to need hospital treatment over the coming fortnight as a result of the outbreak, making it one of the worst in the UK.
The Public Health Laboratory Service said the largest known outbreak was in the southern Spanish city of Murcia last year where nearly 800 people were either suspected or confirmed as having contracted the disease.
