278 cases of legionnaires’ disease were detected in Denmark in 2020. Of these, 94.6% had been infected in Denmark. That is the highest number ever.
The Statens Serum Institut (SSI) has issued the annual report on how many cases of Legionnaires’ disease (LS) were found in Denmark in 2020.
A total of 278 cases of LS, also known as legionella pneumonia, were detected. Of these, 165 were men (59.4%) and 113 women (40.6%).
Out of these, 39 patients died within 30 days after the disease had broken out or they had been hospitalized. It gives a mortality rate of 14%.
Almost 95% infected in Denmark
Out of the 278, 263 people were infected in Denmark. This corresponds to 94.6%. This is an increase of 25% compared to the average for the last three years, and thus the highest number ever.
“The increase in the number of infected in Denmark may be related to a higher test activity in 2020. It may be due to the fact that many hospitalized patients with suspected covid-19 have also been examined for legionella infection,” says head of department Søren Anker Uldum from SSI.
15 infected on travel
There are only 15 cases (5.4%) where people in 2020 were infected with LS when traveling abroad. In 9 cases, it was while traveling in Europe. 5 were infected while traveling in Asia and 1 traveling to the American continent.
The proportion of travel-related LS cases is usually 20-25%
“Due to the extensive travel restrictions in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been very limited travel activity. This is probably the reason for the few travel-associated legionella cases in 2020 ”, says Søren Anker Uldum.
Read more
You can read more about Legionnaires’ disease here.
You can also see the annual statement for legionnaires’ disease in Denmark in 2020 here .
FoodWorld 