Recognising cases of Legionnaires' disease

This summer has seen outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease in England and Scotland. More than 100 people caught the potentially fatal lung disease during an outbreak in Edinburgh in June, in which three people died.

Sixteen water cooling towers in the south-west of Edinburgh were treated with a range of chemicals, in order to kill any bacteria. The towers were identified as a potential source of the outbreak following the first reported cases. A further two people died in Stoke-on-Trent, following a Legionnaires' outbreak thought to be linked to a hot tub.

Although the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has now declared the outbreaks over, clinicians should be aware of this disease as a potential diagnosis for patients who have flu-like symptoms.