Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T12:33:15.158Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Two outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in Bolton Health District

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

E. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
M. O'Mahony
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
J. M. Watson
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
D. Lynch
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
C. Joseph
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
C. Quigley
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
R. Aston
Affiliation:
Bolton Health Authority, 43 Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1JF
G. N. Constable
Affiliation:
Bolton Health Authority, 43 Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1JF
R. J. Farrand
Affiliation:
Bolton Health Authority, 43 Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1JF
S. Maxwell
Affiliation:
Bolton Health Authority, 43 Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1JF
D. N. Hutchinson
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Royal Preston Hospital, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 4HG
J. Craske
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Withington Hospital, Manchester M20 8LR
J. V. Lee
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down, Wiltshire SP4 0JG
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In 1988, there were two outbreaks of legionellosis in Bolton Health District. Altogether 37 cases of Legionnaires' disease and 23 cases of non-pneumonic legionellosis were identified. Twenty-five patients with Legionnaires' disease were associated with an engineering plant, 4 with Bolton town centre, and 8 with both the plant and town centre. Twenty-two people with non-pneumonic legionellosis were linked with the engineering plant and one with the plant and the town centre. A case-control study carried out among 37 employees with legionellosis and 109 control subjects at the plant showed that infection was associated with one of the 15 cooling towers on the site. Legionella pneumophila indistinguishable by serological and genetic typing methods was isolated from this cooling tower and from sputum samples from two patients. In the town centre, no one tower was linked with infection and L. pneumophila was not cultured from any of the nine towers identified. Control measures were implemented and to date there have been no further cases of legionellosis associated with Bolton Health District.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

REFERENCES

Broadcasting House Legionnaires' Disease. Report of the Westminster Action Committee convened to co-ordinate the investigation and control of the outbreak of legionnaires' disease associated with Portland Place, London W1 in April/May 1988. City of Westminster, 1988.Google Scholar
First Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the outbreak of legionnaires disease in Stafford in April 1985 Cmnd 9772. London, HMSO, 1986.Google Scholar
Morton, S, Bartlett, CLR, Bibby, LF et al. Outbreak of legionnaires disease from a cooling water system in a power station. Br J Indust Med 1986; 43: 630–5.Google Scholar
Public Health Laboratory Service. An outbreak of legionnaires disease associated with a whirlpool. Comm Dis Rep 1985; 85/50: 34.Google Scholar
Herwaldt, LA, Gorman, GW, McGrath, T, et al. A new legionella species, Legionella feeleii species nova, causes Pontiac fever in an automobile plant. Ann Intern Med 1984; 100: 333–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P, Bartlett, C, Cook, G, Woodward, M.Legionnaires disease in Reading – possible association with a cooling tower. Commun Med 1985; 7: 202–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Department of Health. Report of the Expert Advisory Committee on Biocides. London, HMSO, 1989.Google Scholar
Health and Safety Executive. Legionnaires' Disease. Guidance note EH 48. London, HMSO, 1987.Google Scholar