Guideline on Management of Legionella Incidents, Outbreaks and Clusters in the Community

The purpose of this document is to provide interagency guidelines to aid investigation and management in the event of an incident, cluster and/or outbreak of legionellosis in the community.

This document is a revised version of the guideline first published in April 2008. It has been revised following Legionella incidents in Scotland in the period 2008-2013, which identified deviations in current practice from those detailed in the original guideline.

The revisions have been made by a group of experts who have been involved in recent Legionella incidents and who represent the principal membership in any Incident Management Team (IMT) who investigate Legionella incidents.

This guideline does not offer clinical guidance. It is for use in the investigation of a public health incident and is principally aimed at those staff and organisations who are involved in any public health response. 

It aims to provide a user-friendly, evidence-informed guideline for Scotland that offers best practice advice/guidance for investigation and management of incidents, clusters and outbreaks of Legionella in the community. 

This document is based on current legislation, best published evidence and expert consensus. Details on guidelines development process in line with the methodology established by the Health Protection Network (HPN), audience, out of scope, and disclaimer are considered in Appendix A on page 49.