Thermal Springs Security Risks: Control Issues Highlighted
- Patients undergoing thermal treatments may be exposed to poorly monitored infectious risks, according to an opinion from the High Council of Public Health (HCSP).
- Though, the monitoring of the quality of these muds is neither standardized nor regulated.
- According to the DGS report for the period 2015-2017, the average compliance rate of analyses carried out as part of health monitoring was 98%; some 29 establishments were...
Patients undergoing thermal treatments may be exposed to poorly monitored infectious risks, according to an opinion from the High Council of Public Health (HCSP). The muds derived from natural waters are especially implicated by the scientific body. These are included in the treatment of at least 60% of patients, with 9 or 18 applications depending on the thermal doctor’s prescription. more than 300,000 patients would be affected during the three to six million mud treatments administered individually each year.
Though, the monitoring of the quality of these muds is neither standardized nor regulated. The guide to good thermal practices, drawn up by the profession with the collaboration of the Directorate-General of Health (DGS), is applied on a voluntary basis, as is the guide to good practices for hydrotherapy care proposed by the French Union of Thermal Doctors (SFMTh). There is also no thermal vigilance system.
High compliance rates, but non-compulsory checks
According to the DGS report for the period 2015-2017, the average compliance rate of analyses carried out as part of health monitoring was 98%; some 29 establishments were served notice, and five had to be closed.
But the checks lack thoroughness according to the HCSP’s opinion: “The muds are not subject to systematic analysis of their quality, it reads in the report. The nature of the clays used, the methods of preparation (extemporaneous, with maturation…), of submission (peloids, cataplasms…), of preservation (single use, individual, collective), of disinfection (thermal, chemical…), of recycling are multiple, and are not sufficiently identified, accessible, brought to the attention of the authorities and the public.
only the 21 establishments involved in an Aquacert certification process, based on the guide to good practices, are subject to systematic microbiological checks. The pathogens sought are Legionella sp, Legionella pneumophila, E. coli, staphylococci , Pseudomonas aeruginosa and enterococci. While these establishments show a high rate of compliance of samples at the source and at the point of use, the HCSP notes a decrease in the proportion of structures with an annual compliance rate of 100%.