Australia Concerned About Legionellosis Outbreak Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Reports

Australia Concerned About Legionellosis Outbreak Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Reports

The outbreak of Legionellosis, or Legionnaires' disease, requiring urgent hospital treatment, was registered in a Melbourne suburb in Australia, with two cases detected there, the Australian NCA NewsWire agency reported on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2021) The outbreak of Legionellosis, or Legionnaires' disease, requiring urgent hospital treatment, was registered in a Melbourne suburb in Australia, with two cases detected there, the Australian NCA NewsWire agency reported on Wednesday.

Two most common species of Legionella bacteria, causing the disease, are mostly found in water. That is why health authorities are checking water cooling towers, swimming pools and spas in search of the infection source, the news outlet said.

After getting into the respiratory tract, the bacteria often cause influenza-like symptoms that may progress to pneumonia. There is no vaccine against legionellosis, but early diagnosis and treatment with special antibiotics can reduce the symptoms' severity and prevent complications.

Legionellosis was first detected in the United States in 1976 in Philadelphia among the participants of the Congress of the American Legion, an organization of war veterans, created after the First World War.