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Legionnaires’ outbreak update
12/07/2012
Total number of cases is 100
The latest reports on the Edinburgh Legionnaires’ outbreak show that one further person has been confirmed with the illness.
The person has been unwell for some time, and is being treated in hospital.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 52 and the number of suspected cases is 48.
The total number of overall cases is 100.
At noon today, of those cases being treated in hospital, there were two patients in intensive care and six on general wards.
A total of 20 cases are being treated in the community, 59 have been discharged from hospital and three people have sadly died.
Ten cases are being treated outwith the NHS Lothian area. The ages of the confirmed cases ranges between 32 and 85, with more males than females affected.
Investigations into the source and cause of the outbreak continue. Lothian and Borders Police and the Health and Safety Executive are jointly investigating the circumstances of the deaths under the direction of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Health and Safety Division.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
“The latest case of Legionnaires’ has been ill for some time, and has now been identified as a confirmed case.
“Over recent days as expected, we have not seen as many cases of Legionnaires’ as we did at the peak of the outbreak, and this continues to offer reassurance that the outbreak remains under control.
"NHS Lothian are maintaining high quality care for patients who remain unwell and investigations continue to identify and deal with the source of the outbreak."
Dr Richard Othieno, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Lothian, said:
“While this is the first new case in more than a week, it is not unexpected.
“As the outbreak draws to a close we can expect to see a small number of cases coming forward who have experienced mild symptoms initially and have sought medical attention later in their illness.”