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On-Site Availability of Legionella Testing in Acute Care Hospitals, United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

Laurel E. Garrison*
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Kristin M. S. Shaw
Affiliation:
Acute Disease Investigation and Control, Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota
Jeffrey T. McCollum
Affiliation:
Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado
Carol Dexter
Affiliation:
Acute Disease Investigation and Control, Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota
Paula M. Snippes Vagnone
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota
Jamie H. Thompson
Affiliation:
Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention, Oregon Public Health Division, Portland, Oregon
Gregory Giambrone
Affiliation:
Division of Epidemiology, New York Emerging Infections Program, Albany, New York
Benjamin White
Affiliation:
Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado
Stepy Thomas
Affiliation:
Georgia Emerging Infections Program, Atlanta Research and Education Foundation, Decatur, Georgia
L. Rand Carpenter
Affiliation:
Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee
Megin Nichols
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Erin Parker
Affiliation:
California Emerging Infections Program, Oakland, California
Susan Petit
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Program, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Hartford, Connecticut
Lauri A. Hicks
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Gayle E. Langley
Affiliation:
Respiratory Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
*
NCIRD/DBD/Respiratory Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS C-25 Atlanta, GA 30333 (lee5@cdc.gov).

Extract

We surveyed 399 US acute care hospitals regarding availability of on-site Legionella testing; 300 (75.2%) did not offer Legionella testing on site. Availability varied according to hospital size and geographic location. On-site access to testing may improve detection of Legionnaires disease and inform patient management and prevention efforts.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(7):898–900

Type
Concise Communication
Copyright
© 2014 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.

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