ECDC publishes annual report on Legionnaires’ disease for 2020

On 10 May 2022, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published its annual epidemiological report on Legionnaires' disease for 2020 in Europe.

In a summary of the report's major points:

• The overall notification report decreased from 2.2 to 1.9 cases per 100,000 of the population from 2019.
• Notification rates remained heterogenous across the EU and EEA, varying from fewer than 0.5 up to 5.7 cases per 100,000 of the population, with the highest rate reported by Slovenia.
• France, Germany, Italy and Spain accounted for 72% of all notified cases.
• Males aged 65 years and older were most affected, with 7.1 cases per 100,000 of the population.
• The number of reported cases to the travel-associated surveillance scheme decreased by 67% compared with 2019.
• Only 10% of cases were culture confirmed, possibly leading to underestimation of disease caused by Legionella species other than Legionella pneumophila. 

Source: ECDC, 10 May 2022