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Legionella E-news -- 3 December 2001**IN
THIS ISSUE** 1.
Update on Norway Outbreak 2.
Follow-up to Last Issue's Survivor Letter 3.
2002 Legionella Courses - 4 New Locations 4.
The Role of Protozoa in Legionella Control 5.
New Online Publications on Waterborne Disease *************************************************************** 1.
UPDATE ON NORWAY OUTBREAK *************************************************************** The
September issue of E-news included information on an outbreak in Stavanger,
Norway. At that time 17 confirmed and 2 probable cases of Legionnaires'
disease had been identified, with 2 deaths. A final report on
the outbreak, published in the 29 November 2001 issue of Eurosurveillance
Weekly, states that 26 confirmed (by urinary antigen) and
2 probable cases were identified. 21 of the 28 patients were men. 7 of
the 28 have died, one of which was one of the two probable cases. The age
range of the 28 cases was 16 to 94 years, with a mean age of 54. The age
range of those who died was 43 to 94 years, with a mean age of 81. All
the patients had been in the same area in the city centre within the incubation
period. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was found in water samples
collected from the cooling tower of a hotel where three of the patients
had been staying. The outlet of the cooling tower was situated five
meters above ground, close to a bus terminal. Nine isolates from patients
and five isolates from the cooling tower showed similarities and
were different from other known Norwegian legionella isolates. [The report
did not indicate that the isolates matched exactly.] *************************************************************** 2.
FOLLOW-UP TO LAST ISSUE'S SURVIVOR LETTER *************************************************************** I
prefaced the story with a note that the writer of the letter did not mention
whether Legionnaires' disease was confirmed by laboratory tests. I
have since found out, from the hospital that treated the patient, that Legionnaires'
disease was indeed confirmed by sputum culture. Many
of you responded to the request for feedback as to whether we should
include Legionnaires' survivor letters in future issues of E- news,
or focus strictly on technical content. Most thought the survivor letters
were a good idea, but a few suggested technical content only. I appreciated
your suggestions. As a compromise, we will consider including
letters from survivors of confirmed Legionnaires' disease every
10 or 12 issues, but only those letters that indicate a lesson in prevention,
diagnosis, or treatment. *************************************************************** 3.
2002 LEGIONELLA COURSES - 4 NEW LOCATIONS *************************************************************** Here
are locations for the Legionella Prevention Training Course in the first
half to 2002: *
Dallas: 30-31 January *
Montreal: 7-8 March *
New York City: 21-22 March *
Chicago: 1-2 May Hotel
information should be available at http://hcinfo.com/legionellaseminar.htm
within one or two weeks. To
register for the seminars, or get more information, visit http://hcinfo.com/legionellaseminar.htm,
telephone 1-800-801-8050 (1- 760-494-3063
outside the USA and Canada), or e-mail hcinfo@hcinfo.com. *************************************************************** 4.
THE ROLE OF PROTOZOA IN LEGIONELLA CONTROL *************************************************************** Sharon
G. Berk, Martha J.M. Wells, and Anthony L. Newsome of Tennessee Technological
University, Middle Tennessee State University, conducted an
EPA-funded study from 1 October 1996 to 30 September 2000 entitled "Protozoa
in Risk Assessment of Legionellosis-Inadequacy of Guidelines and
Monitoring." The study
examined several aspects of protozoa in actual
cooling tower water. The project included a number of objectives, one
of which was to evaluate the efficacy of commonly used biocides and combinations
of biocides. The results indicate that protozoa may play important
roles in maintaining Legionellae in cooling towers, that conditions
of cooling towers may facilitate production and release of vesicles
containing legionellae from protozoa, and that certain biocides may
be more effective than others in inhibiting legionellae within vesicles.
The researchers conclude that protozoa should be considered in monitoring
and risk assessment of Legionella in cooling towers and that biocides
should target protozoan hosts. The final report is posted at http://es.epa.gov/ncer/final/grants/96/envbio/berk.html
*************************************************************** 5.
NEW ONLINE PUBLICATIONS ON WATERBORNE DISEASE *************************************************************** Because
of a special licensing arrangement between HC Information Resources Inc.
and
the UK office of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., each chapter of Waterborne
Disease: Epidemiology
and Ecology (by Paul R. Hunter, Public Health Laboratory Service, Chester,
UK) is now available online at hcinfo.com. The chapters can be purchased
individually
for $11 each. Each downloads in less than 30 seconds. Chapters 1-4 and 31-33
cover epidemiology, water supply and distribution, drinking water,
illness associated
with recreational water, chemical poisoning, cancer, and adverse pregnancy
outcomes. The other chapters cover a specific water-related illness or pathogen,
one per chapter, discussing, as applicable, clinical features,
diagnosis, treatment,
environmental detection, ecology, epidemiology, and microbiology. References
are included at the end of each chapter. To order or get more information,
visit http://hcinfo.com/waterbornedisease.htm. *************************************************************** *************************************************************** *************************************************************** Please
mention Legionella E-news in listservs or on your web site. Sample
announcement: "Legionella E-news is a free monthly e-newsletter that
covers recent outbreaks, new publications, and new technology. To subscribe,
go to http://hcinfo.com, or send a message to *************************************************************** If
you have suggestions, information to offer, or complaints, please send
a message to hcinfo@hcinfo.com. We appreciate feedback! *************************************************************** (c)
Copyright 2001, HC Information Resources Inc. You
have permission to send this newsletter to others, post it on your web
site, or include it in listserv posts, under the strict condition that
you include the following notice to properly credit the source: "Excerpted
from Legionella E-news, a free e-newsletter available at http://hcinfo.com." THANK
YOU! Matt
Freije
HC
Information Resources Inc.
http://hcinfo.com
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