CDC Webinar – Healthcare-Associated Legionnaires’ Disease: Current Strategies for Response and Prevention
Webinar Held: Monday, June 15, 2020, from 1-2pm EDT
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Did you know the incidence of reported U.S. Legionnaires’ disease cases grew by nearly 9 times from 2000 to 2018? Nearly 10,000 cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018—the most cases ever reported. However, even this high number is likely an underestimate since many cases do not get recognized or diagnosed. Since more cases of Legionnaires’ disease are typically reported in the summer months, now is the time to make sure you have the latest information on diagnosing and preventing this disease, which is fatal for about 10% of those who get it.
Clinicians, healthcare facility leadership, public health officials, and building owners can all play a role in protecting people from Legionnaires’ disease, caused by Legionella bacteria. Clinicians are in a unique position to make sure cases are detected, allowing rapid investigation by public health officials and prevention of additional cases.
In this webinar, Chris Edens, Legionella Epidemiologist in CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, provided an overview of Legionnaires’ disease in the United States and steps that can be taken to identify cases, collect needed specimens, and reduce the risk for Legionella exposure through water management programs.
Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe Legionnaires’ disease trends
- Identify risk factors for Legionnaires’ disease
- Understand proper specimen collection and how it relates to case surveillance and outbreak response
- Identify elements of a comprehensive water management program
Speaker:
Chris Edens, PhD, Epidemiologist, Division of Bacterial Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Contact:
For more information, please contact Kathleen Amos at [email protected].