A cluster of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008-2009

S J Pravinkumar; G Edwards; D Lindsay; S Redmond; J Stirling; R House; J Kerr; E Anderson; D Breen; O Blatchford; E McDonald; A Brown

doi:10.2807/ese.15.08.19496-en

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A cluster of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008-2009

S J Pravinkumar¹, G Edwards², D Lindsay², S Redmond³, J Stirling³, R House⁴, J Kerr¹, E Anderson⁵, D Breen⁶, O Blatchford⁴, E McDonald⁴, A Brown²
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Affiliations: ¹ National Health Service Lanarkshire, Hamilton, United Kingdom ² Scottish Legionella Reference Laboratory, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom ³ South Lanarkshire Council, Atholl House, East Kilbride, United Kingdom ⁴ Health Protection Scotland, Clifton House, Glasgow, United Kingdom ⁵ Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board, Dalian House, Glasgow, United Kingdom ⁶ National Health Service Dumfries and Galloway, Crichton Hall, Dumfries, United Kingdom

Correspondence:
S Pravinkumar
Josephine.Pravinkumar lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk
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Citation style for this article: Pravinkumar S J, Edwards G, Lindsay D, Redmond S, Stirling J, House R, Kerr J, Anderson E, Breen D, Blatchford O, McDonald E, Brown A. A cluster of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae linked to potting compost in Scotland, 2008-2009. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(8):pii=19496. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.15.08.19496-en Received: 19 Feb 2010

Abstract

Three cases of Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae Sg 1 associated with potting compost have been reported in Scotland between 2008 and 2009. The exact method of transmission is still not fully understood as Legionnaires' disease is thought to be acquired by droplet inhalation. The linked cases associated with compost exposure call for an introduction of compost labelling, as is already in place in other countries where L. longbeachae outbreaks have been reported. .