“A feasible online system to detect and quantify Legionella in water” was the speech made by Carlos Ferrer, manager of the biotechnology company Bótica S.L., housed at espaitec, which was given during the 33rd edition of the Technical Conferences of the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS, in Spanish), held in Burgos from 28 to 30 April 2015.

This speech helped present one of the main technical landmarks in the Spanish water sector: Legiolab. This automated equipment is used to determine in situ the concentration of Legionella, an environmental pathogenic bacterium that proliferates in at-risk buildings and is caught by inhaling aerosols, and causes cases and outbreaks of pneumonia.

More than 400 technical congress members and specialists from various companies, institutions, organisations and Spanish public administrations took part in these technical conferences. Professionals came from this sector, who are increasingly concerned about controlling this microorganism in real time to optimise cleaning and disinfection treatments, the consequences it has on public health, and about the government’s commitment, which is currently working on a new Royal Decree on Legionnaire’s Disease