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LEGIONELLA - World Health Organization

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Training opportunities<br />

Trainees in public health medicine, epidemiology, microbiology or environmental health welcome<br />

the opportunity to become involved in outbreak investigations. However, their training activities<br />

role should not hinder the work of the outbreak control team, and trainees should not be put<br />

into roles with responsibilities beyond their level of expertise or competence. The trainees should<br />

be a resource for the outbreak control team at a level appropriate to their training needs.<br />

9.3.3 Policies and practices<br />

Good public health practice must be paramount when planning the management of an<br />

outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. International travel-associated outbreaks will be managed<br />

differently (see below).<br />

The outbreak control plan should outline the local or national lines of communication in response<br />

to the diagnosis of one or more linked cases of legionellosis. The plan should specify who is<br />

responsible for convening the outbreak control team, and the key groups of staff to be included<br />

in the team.<br />

Once an outbreak is suspected or confirmed, the control team should be convened immediately.<br />

At its first meeting, the team should:<br />

• elect a chairperson, who will be responsible for convening all future meetings and organizing<br />

secretarial support for taking and promptly distributing minutes and any other information<br />

associated with the outbreak<br />

• establish terms of reference for the outbreak investigation (see Section 9.3.4)<br />

• determine which groups of public health professionals will be enforcement or legislative<br />

authorities for prevention and control of Legionella infection<br />

• agree on a plan for ensuring that immediate action is taken to eliminate the source of<br />

infection, once it has been identified<br />

• review epidemiological information to decide where to focus the initial environmental<br />

investigations and control measures (see Section 9.3.5).<br />

Resources<br />

Regardless of the size, magnitude and duration of an outbreak, it is vital that sufficient resources<br />

are mobilized and maintained until the investigation is complete. This includes resources for<br />

managing all aspects of the outbreak investigation, analysing data and producing an outbreak<br />

report.<br />

<strong>LEGIONELLA</strong> AND THE PREVENTION OF LEGIONELLOSIS

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