Exchange of Experts’ programme: Greece/Lebanon on Legionella

The event involved visits to the Legionella Reference Laboratory (K.E.D.Y.) and the National Public Health Organization (NPHO) in Athens, Greece.

The meeting, which brought together five experts from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, four experts from Greece and an expert in Legionnaires' disease from ECDC, provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge and share experiences about prevention, surveillance and response to the Legionella bacterial pathogen.

Experts described respective national and EU surveillance systems in place that allowed monitoring trends in Legionnaires’ disease (LD) and facilitated cluster or outbreak detection, including the travel-associated cases reported through ELDSNet. The challenge of early detection, testing and reporting of LD pneumonia among other respiratory illnesses were similar. Interviewing cases to help identify possible risk sources and prevent further cases in the community was considered an important element for prevention efforts.

Discussions on laboratory issues included reflections on the use of laboratory techniques for different clinical samples, the range of Legionella spp. and the role of characterisation and typing in outbreak situations. Protocols for taking and processing environmental water samples from outbreak investigations and routine monitoring were discussed.

Overall, the two-day technical exchange identified several areas for further exchange and collaboration.

Background

In the framework of the EU Initiative on Health Security, ECDC and the EU Member States set up an ‘Exchange of Experts’ programme aiming to provide experts from European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries with opportunities to learn from the experiences of EU Member States within specific disease areas, and in turn, share their own experiences.