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Article: An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease
- Article from:
- Synergy
- Article date:
- June 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Society & College of Radiographers Jun 2003. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
During the summer of 2002 an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease occurred in a geographically isolated part of the north west of England. With 167 patients being diagnosed as disease positive, and an associated overwhelming number of admissions due to suspected disease, this has become Britain's largest outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. The mortality rate was less than 5%, the lowest of any recent outbreak. Approximately 500 people, about one in 150 of the local population, were treated as in-patients with either confirmed or suspected Legionella and this was in addition to the hospital's normal non-elective activity. A high proportion of these people were seriously ill, ...