Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoser Str. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
Int J Biometeorol. 2019 Oct;63(10):1347-1356. doi: 10.1007/s00484-019-01751-9. Epub 2019 Jul 24.
Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a severe lung infection caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila which is usually associated with water managing installations like cooling towers. Several outbreaks of LD have been linked to individual sources of bioaerosol in the past. However, the transmission pathways as well as the influence of meteorological factors in the spreading of such bioaerosols remain unclear. Using the meteorological data near 12 LD outbreaks in Europe for the period 2000-2016, the correlation between key meteorological factors and the occurrence of LD was assessed. Temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, precipitation, cloud cover and, for the first time, fog occurrence were included as potential risk factors. It was found that the occurrence of fog was related to four of the LD outbreaks, suggesting that the presence of fog droplets and/or the thermal inversions associated with fog may play a role in the disease spreading. This finding can contribute to outbreak investigations and to the prevention of future outbreaks.
军团病（LD）是一种由嗜肺军团菌引起的严重肺部感染，通常与冷却塔等水管理设施有关。过去，已有几起因生物气溶胶的个别来源而导致的 LD 爆发事件。然而，这些生物气溶胶传播的途径以及气象因素的影响仍不清楚。本研究利用 2000-2016 年期间欧洲 12 起 LD 爆发事件附近的气象数据，评估了关键气象因素与 LD 发生之间的相关性。将温度、湿度、大气压、风速、降水、云量以及首次出现的雾的发生情况作为潜在的危险因素纳入考虑。研究结果表明，雾的发生与四起 LD 爆发事件有关，表明雾滴的存在和/或与雾相关的逆温可能在疾病传播中发挥作用。这一发现有助于爆发调查和未来爆发的预防。
