INFANT'S FATAL LEGIONELLA INFECTION LINKED TO HOME HUMIDIFIER

A free standing cold water humidifier was linked to a Legionella (Lp1) infection in an infant that had for six weeks also been receiving corticosteroid treatment for shortness of breath and wheezing. The humidifier had been filled with tap water and not regularly cleaned. The infant was admitted to the hospital in February this year due to high fever, cough, wheezing, and vomiting, and died two weeks later despite antibiotic treatment. The report is posted at http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20293.