Legionella
E-news -- 10 October 2002
**IN
THIS ISSUE**
1. Five Travel-Related Legionnaires' Cases, One Death
2. Two LD Deaths in Melbourne, Australia
3. Update on Sandwell, UK
4. Three Cases Near Stavanger, Norway
5. Two LD Cases in Essex (UK)
6. Three LD Cases in Waterloo, Canada
7. Legionella Training Course in Washington, DC
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1. FIVE TRAVEL-RELATED LEGIONNAIRES' CASES, ONE DEATH
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Legionnaires' disease was confirmed in five British people who all
stayed at the same hotel in Belgium within the ten days preceding
illness. One of the cases was confirmed by culture and the other four by
urinary antigen; L. pneumophila serogroup 1 was the cause of all five.
The five individuals were traveling in three separate groups. A
63-year-old man, who became ill on 7 September 2002 and has died, had
been traveling with a group of ten people, two of whom had reported
respiratory symptoms but were negative for Legionella. Three cases
occurred in a man and two women who were part of a group of 46 people on
a coach tour to Austria. They became ill between 21 and 24 September;
all three were hospitalized. The fifth case occurred in a 65-year-old
woman who was with 40 British tourists on another Austrian tour; she
became ill 28 September and was hospitalized in France. All five
patients had stayed only one night at the hotel in Belgium. Belgium
health inspectors have investigated the hotel, collected water samples,
and implemented control measures. The hotel remains open. Source:
Eurosurveillance Weekly, 3 October 2002. Reported by Carol Joseph, EWGLI
surveillance scheme project coordinator, Public Health Laboratory
Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London, England
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2. TWO LD DEATHS IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
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Two men, ages 51 and 83, contracted Legionnaires' disease in Melbourne
and have died. As of 12
September, a 72-year-old woman with Legionnaires', also from Melbourne,
was still in the hospital. Health authorities suspect all three got the
disease after visiting the same area in Brunswick. One of the men lived
in the Brunswick area and the other, a truck driver, had made deliveries
there. The woman works in the area.
Health officials are investigating. Source: The Age
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3. UPDATE ON SANDWELL, UK
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Last month's E-news reported seven cases, including one death.
Laboratory tests have confirmed an eighth case, a man in his 30s. The
outbreak has been blamed on a cooling tower at a chemical plant. Source:
BBC News
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4. THREE CASES NEAR STAVANGER, NORWAY
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On 5-6 September 2002, Legionella infection was confirmed in a
49-year-old Sandnes man and a 55-year-old Stavanger man. The only common
factor identified is that both make a 15-kilometer commute to work daily
between Sandnes and Stavanger. Both were hospitalized in Rogaland and
have recovered. A third case, a 62-year-old Stavanger woman, was
identified on 7 September. News of the three cases worried Stavanger
residents because an outbreak involving 28 cases and 7 deaths occurred
there during the summer of 2001. Source: Aftenposten
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5. TWO LD CASES IN ESSEX (UK)
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As of 25 September 2002, two men with Legionnaires' disease were in
critical condition in an Essex (UK) hospital. Laboratory tests confirmed
the presence of Legionella. The Essex Health Authority is
investigating both cases to identify potential links.
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6. THREE LD CASES IN WATERLOO, CANADA
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On 10 September 2002, it was reported that two construction workers,
ages 34 and 47, were in critical condition after contracting
Legionnaires' disease a week prior. The men were on respirators and
their lungs had shut down. One of the men was experiencing additional
organ failure. As of 28 September, one was still in intensive care; the
other's condition was upgraded to stable. Both had been doing
renovations to the roof of a hospital in the Waterloo area. A
44-year-old female patient at the same hospital was diagnosed with the
disease on 7 September. At the time she had been in the hospital four
days with an unrelated ailment; she may have contracted Legionnaires'
before she came to the hospital. In the week of 23 September, two more
workers at the hospital construction site were diagnosed with pneumonia
and hospitalized. Urinary antigen tests were negative for Legionella
pneumophila serogroup 1; the results of blood and sputum tests have not
yet been reported. Source:
The Record
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7. LEGIONELLA TRAINING COURSE IN WASHINGTON, DC
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Seats are still available for the Legionella Prevention Training Course
to be held 5-6 December 2002 in the Washington, DC area. The Virginia
Department of Mental Health is hosting the course, but registrations
should be made through HCINFO (http://hcinfo.com/legionellaseminar.htm).
The course will be held at VDMH's Northern Virginia Training Center in
Fairfax, Virginia. The site is only 10 miles from Washington Dulles
International Airport and close to many hotels and restaurants. Only 30
seats are available, so register soon. Tuition is US$495. After
registering you will receive information on transportation from the
airport, driving directions, and nearby hotels.
If
you have access to a meeting facility, and would like to host a course,
please let us know. We can provide the two-day comprehensive course for
a mixed group (public health officials, hospital engineering personnel,
infection control directors, plumbing engineers, water treatment
professionals, industrial hygienists, etc.), or tailor a one-day course
for a specific audience. You can also get private training for your
organization. For more information, go to http://hcinfo.com/legionellaseminar.htm.
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(c)
Copyright 2002, 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, Editor
HC Information Resources Inc.
Tel: 760-494-3063
Fax: 619-839-3166
hcinfo@hcinfo.com
http://hcinfo.com
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