Lochgoilhead fever: outbreak of non-pneumonic legionellosis due to Legionella micdadei

Abstract

Analysis of case histories from 187 people who had visited a hotel and leisure complex in Lochgoilhead, a village on the west coast of Scotland, indicated that 170 had had an acute illness characterised by headache, fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia, cough, and breathlessness. These symptoms were consistent with Pontiac fever-like illness. Legionella micdadei was isolated from the leisure complex whirlpool spa at the time that 60 of 72 individuals with symptoms seroconverted to L micdadei antigen. This outbreak is thought to be the first of a Pontiac fever-like illness ascribed to L micdadei and the first large-scale outbreak of its kind to have occurred outside North America. Whirlpool spas can be a major reservoir of legionella organisms; they must therefore be properly maintained and operated to prevent outbreaks of infection.