Legionnaires' disease surveillance: England and Wales, 1995

One hundred and sixty cases of legionnaires' disease were reported to the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre in 1995. Twenty cases (13%) were known to have died. Ninety cases (56%) were associated with travel (in the United Kingdom or abroad), four were associated with a stay in hospital, and the remaining 66 were presumed to have acquired infection in the community. One hundred and twenty-three cases (77%) occurred sporadically. Three community outbreaks and one outbreak at an industrial site were detected in England and Wales. One outbreak and five clusters were detected among visitors to Turkey, Spain, and Italy. Seven cases and one outbreak of nonpneumonic legionellosis were also reported. Cases of travel associated legionnaires' disease continue to account for the largest proportion of the total reported in 1995 and the number of hospital acquired cases continues to decline. A cause for concern in 1995 was a fall in the proportion of cases diagnosed by culture of the organism (from 16% in 1994 to only 9% in 1995). This corresponded with a small increase in the proportion of cases diagnosed solely by detection of antigen to L. pneumophila serogroup 1 in urine.