Corfu Link To Legionnaires' Cases Investigated

The Health Protection Agency has launched an investigation into a cluster of cases of legionnaires' disease in the UK, which appear to be linked to the Greek island of Corfu.

The organisation said it had been made aware of at least nine cases of the disease in people who had visited the island since August.

The disease, caused by the legionella bacterium, can lead to severe pneumonia and potentially cause complications that can be fatal.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) working with colleagues in the UK, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and Greek public health authorities to try to find the possible source or sources.

It could not rule out a UK source for the infection.

The disease can survive in water and is sometimes spread through exposure to water droplets from cooling systems, shower heads and taps. It cannot be spread from person to person.

Symptoms can start between two and 14 days after being exposed to a source - often initially appearing as a flu-like illness. Early antibiotic treatment is important to minimise its affects.

Health officials are advising travellers to Corfu to be aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Professor Nick Phin, head of the HPA's legionnaires' department, said: "We are concerned that UK residents travelling to Corfu should be aware of this potential risk, however we are not suggesting that people change their holiday plans.

"We are continuing our investigations so that we can provide the best advice for travellers and minimise the risk of further cases.

"Sometimes a source for the infection is never found, because the bacteria can live in a very wide variety of types of water supply."

Doctors are being asked to report any other people returning from Corfu with the relevant symptoms.

:: The ECDC has alerted national authorities of a malaria risk in Greece, after a 2011 spike occurred within the prefecture of Lakonia.