Legionnaires' disease surveillance: England and Wales 1994

Commun Dis Rep CDR Rev. 1995 Nov 10;5(12):R180-3.

Abstract

One hundred and sixty cases of legionnaires' disease in England and Wales were reported to the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre in 1994, a rate of 3.1 cases per million population. Twenty-seven cases died. Eighty-nine cases (56%) were associated with travel, either in the United Kingdom (UK) or abroad, and six with a stay in hospital; the remaining cases were presumed to have acquired infection in the community. Seven outbreaks were detected in England and Wales: one was associated with a holiday centre, one with a hotel in London, two with industrial sites, and three occurred in the community. A further four clusters were associated with travel abroad: Spain, Ibiza, the Channel Islands, and a Mediterranean cruise. One hundred and twenty-eight of the 160 cases (79%) were sporadic--that is, not known to be associated with outbreaks--43 of which (34%) were not associated with travel nor acquired in hospital.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Community-Acquired Infections / epidemiology
  • Community-Acquired Infections / transmission
  • Cross Infection / epidemiology
  • Cross Infection / transmission
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • England / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Legionnaires' Disease / epidemiology*
  • Legionnaires' Disease / transmission
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Population Surveillance*
  • Travel
  • Wales / epidemiology