Portugal's new framework for the prevention and control of legionella or legionellosis diseases is compatible with the flexibility allowed by the European Union's revised tap water rules, a Portuguese health expert has told EURACTIV.com .

Ricardo Santos, head of the water microbiology laboratory at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon, praised the EU's revision of the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) which puts update the water quality parameters set more than 20 years ago.

“It is important that the new guideline begins to take into account other pathogenic organisms because, so far, the only microbial indicator in tap water is E. coli bacteria ,” he said.

Among the updated metrics, EU lawmakers decided to extend monitoring for Legionella bacteria to all EU drinking water systems as part of a new risk assessment analysis.

In August, the Portuguese Parliament passed a law dealing specifically with the prevention and control of the bacterium in question.

According to Santos, this new Portuguese diet is quite flexible, allowing for different methods and taking into account different levels of risk, as it puts more emphasis on Legionella pneumophila , which can cause a deadly form of pneumonia, also called of the legionnaire.

While the new national framework on legionellosis falls under the competence of the Ministry of Health, the implementation of the DWD in Portuguese legislation will fall under the responsibility of different government agencies linked to the Ministry of the Environment.

However, the health expert sees no room for possible overlapping skills. “I think there are good interactions between the different agencies and that the DWD will be aligned with the new decree ,” he said.

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