52°42′08″N 5°15′04″E / 52.70223°N 5.25101°E / 52.70223; 5.25101
 Legionella pneumophila bacterium | |
| Date | 25 February 1999 (1999-02-25) |
|---|---|
| Location | Bovenkarspel, the Netherlands |
| Deaths | at least 32 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 206 |
The Bovenkarspel legionellosis outbreak (Dutch: Legionellaramp; Legionella disaster) began on 25 February 1999 in Bovenkarspel, the Netherlands, and was one of the largest outbreaks of legionellosis in history. With at least 32 dead and 206 severe infections, it was the deadliest legionellosis outbreak since the original 1976 outbreak in Philadelphia, United States.
Between 19 and 28 February 1999, the Westfriese Flora took place in Bovenkarspel, one of the largest indoor flower exhibitions in the world (later the Holland Flowers Festival). A vendor had several recreational hot tubs on display, with one of them filled from a long-inactive firehose and heated to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). In the water that had previously stagnated inside the hose, a very aggressive type of legionella pneumophila bacterium had developed.
References
- Feenstra, Gerbrand (18 March 1999). "Een van de grootste uitbraken in de geschiedenis" [One of the largest outbreaks in history]. De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
- Mahon, Connie (2014). Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 416. ISBN 9780323292610.
- Cunha, BA; Burillo, A; Bouza, E (23 January 2016). "Legionnaires' disease". Lancet. 387 (10016): 376–85. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60078-2. PMID 26231463. S2CID 28047369.
External links
- A Large Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease at a Flower Show, the Netherlands, 1999, Jeroen W. Den Boer, Ed P.F. Yzerman, Joop Schellekens et al., Emerging Infectious Diseases, Volume 8, Number 1—January 2002
- The Westfriese Flora flower exhibition and fair, Legionnaires` Disease website
- (in Dutch) 25 februari 1999: Legionellabesmetting Westfriese Flora, Bovenkarspel, Zwaailichten disaster website (archive)
| Legionnaires' disease | |
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