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. 2003 Jun;57(6):466–469. doi: 10.1136/jech.57.6.466

Sporadic cases of community acquired legionnaires' disease: an ecological study to identify new sources of contamination

D Che 1, B Decludt 1, C Campese 1, J Desenclos 1
PMCID: PMC1732479  PMID: 12775798

Abstract

Study objective: To explore the relation between incidence of sporadic and community acquired legionnaires' disease and exposure to potentially contaminated industrial aerosols.

Design: Geographical ecological approach using the postcode as the statistical unit. A multivariate Poisson regression model was used to model the relation between exposure to industrial aerosols and legionnaires' disease.

Setting: Metropolitan France.

Main results: More than 1000 sources of industrial exposure (aerosol and plume of smoke) were identified in 42 French departments. After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a statistically increased incidence of legionnaires' disease in postcodes with plume of smoke in comparison with postcodes without (RR=1.45, 95% CI=1.12 to 1.87), and in postcodes with more than one aerosol in comparison with postcodes without (RR=1.37, 95% CI=1.04 to 1.79).

Conclusion: These findings highlight that any industrial systems generating water aerosols should be regarded as potential sources of contamination for legionnaires' disease.

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Selected References

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