Queensland Health, part of Queensland Government in Australia, has issued a warning to commercial and residential spa owners of the health risks of poor spa maintenance, following two recent cases of Legionnaires disease in the south east of the region.

The cases involved tourists staying in a Gold Coast resort, who contracted the disease after using the resort’s spa bath.

Senior director of population health, Dr Linda Selvey, said that testing of the resort spa pool concerned showed that the water contained the Legionalla bacteria that causes the disease.

It is understood that the bacteria found resulted from a combination of the spa baths not having a filtering system and the higher temperature of the water in the baths encouraging bacteria growth.

Dr Selvey said: “This highlights the need for all spa pool owners to maintain their spas regularly and effectively to ensure safety. Regular spa pool maintenance requires draining the water at least once a month to ensure it can be thoroughly cleaned.

“This includes cleaning the filter, removing any lint or foreign matter and soaking the spa pool overnight in diluted chlorine or a similar disinfectant.”