Public Health Scotland (PHS) have published Guidance for the public health management of Legionnaires’ disease.
In line with the PHS method to produce health protection guidance, a guidance development group (GDG) consisting of a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders with relevant expertise, has adapted the UKHSA Legionnaires’ disease: guidance, data and analysis (2021), for use in Scotland.
This guidance replaces the 2014 SHPN Guideline on the management of Legionella cases, incidents, outbreaks and clusters in the community.
It is intended for use by professionals in NHS health protection teams, Public Health Scotland (PHS) and other relevant stakeholders.
Key messages about the guidance
The guidance:
· outlines the public health investigation and management of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) cases, clusters and outbreaks
· aligns with UK case definitions and now includes detection of Legionella spp. nucleic acid, by PCR, to confirm cases (which was adopted in Scotland from 2017)
· recommends public health actions for cases and clusters associated with healthcare settings, with community-based settings and travel
· outlines the environmental investigation of potential sources of infection and sampling
