Prevention of scalding and legionellosis cases associated to hot tap water in private homes

This notice responds to a request from the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (department of health) of Québec. It is the result of the concerted efforts of two teams within the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (national institute of public health): the “Biohazard, environmental and occupational risks” team wrote the “legionellosis” section, and the “Safety and injury prevention” team wrote the “scalding” section.

Based on an analysis of the scientific literature and the data available in Québec, the Institute believes that preventing tap water scalds is as important as preventing legionellosis. These problems have similar consequences from a public health perspective and in both cases there are well-known, effective or promising prevention measures.