Increase in Edinburgh Legionnaires’ cases

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told a news conference the source was likely to be outdoor industrial cooling towers in the south-west of Edinburgh.

She said: “Samples have been taken from all of those towers and all of them have been subject to what is called shock treatment which is effectively chemical treatment to deal with the risk of ongoing infection, and there will be sampling over the course of today around these towers.”

The process of identifying the infection source was complicated, she added.

“I’m advised by experts that very often with Legionnaires’ disease, it’s not possible to identify a particular source beyond reasonable doubt so often what is dealt with is a balance of probabilities of where the source is likely to be.”

The majority of those affected are men aged between their mid thirties and late eighties, according to Dr Duncan McCormick, chair of NHS Lothian’s incident management team.

The health board said the patient who died was in his 50s and had underlying health conditions. He was being treated at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

‘Serious infection’

Leading expert in bacteriology, Professor Hugh Pennington, described Legionnaires’ as one of the “most serious infections we cope with in the UK”.

He added: “The source is thought to be the cooling towers … the bug actually gets into water droplets released from these cooling towers and spreads on the wind and it can spread quite a long way and still be infectious.”

What is Legionnaires' disease?

Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal lung infection caused by the legionella bacteria. It is caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water. It is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person.

Initial symptoms include a high fever and muscle pain. Once the bacteria begin to infect your lungs, you may also develop a persistent cough. Prompt treatment using antibiotics is essential. 

The condition is called Legionnaires' disease because it was first identified after a mass outbreak at a hotel hosting a convention of a veteran organisation known as the American Legion.

Legionella bacteria is commonly found (often in low numbers) in sources of water, such as rivers and lakes. The bacteria sometimes find their way into artificial water supply systems such as air conditioning systems, hot and cold water services and cooling towers.