Investigations into the source of a massive outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in England, which has left one man dead and several seriously ill in hospital, are concentrating on an air-conditioning plant in a council-run arts centre.
Public health experts believe poor maintenance of the plant could have been a factor in the outbreak.
A council-run arts and civic centre was closed on Thursday following reports that the air conditioning had been pumping steam into the surrounding streets in Barrow-in-Furness town centre.
One elderly man has died and five more patients are fighting for their lives following the outbreak, which hospital bosses say could kill as many as 20 people.
Speaking at a news conference at Furness General Hospital, where 54 people with either confirmed or suspected cases of the disease are receiving treatment, 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."
He added: "It is a fairly open secret that over the past 20 years or so Environmental Health has had a shortage of resources."
He said that that was something currently being addressed by the present government but asked directly if there had been a discrepancy in maintaining facilities at the centre, he said: "There may be an issue there." He said he was "fairly confident" the source of the outbreak, close to Barrow town hall, had been identified.
He said: "We need to keep our fingers crossed. It is a fairly big outbreak but I am fairly confident we will have this sorted out in the near future." Since the first case of the disease was identified on July 12, tests have been carried out on a number of patients reporting pneumonia-like symptoms. The people receiving treatment in hospital are 27 men and 27 women aged between 18 and 89.
Last night an 89-year-old man became the first victim of the outbreak and a further five patients currently in intensive care were today giving doctors "cause for concern".
They were suffering severe complications of either the lung or the kidneys, or both, brought about by the potentially fatal bug.
A further four people were in intensive care and 10 confirmed cases of the disease were said to be in a "poorly but stable" condition.
Ian Cumming, chief executive of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, said he thought the hospital was well placed to cope with the outbreak. Hospital officials were still expecting about 130 people to contract the disease over the coming fortnight, of whom between 15 and 20 could be expected "not to pull through", he said.
PA