Conference on Legionella
The conference “Legionella: anticipate, prevent and act”, held on 22 April 2026, brought together several areas of expertise around a major public health issue: better understanding, monitoring and preventing the risks linked to Legionella. The presentations covered lessons learned from an outbreak, laboratory diagnosis and environmental risk assessment.
“Lessons learnt from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak: how does the new legal framework contribute to prevention?”
Dr Anne Vergison, Medical Inspector, Head of the Health Inspection Division, Health Directorate.
This presentation reviewed the management of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that occurred in Steinfort in July 2025 following a heatwave. She also outlined the new regulatory framework, based on European Directive 2020/2184 and its implementation at national level, with an approach centred on risk assessment, monitoring of priority sites and the rapid implementation of corrective measures.
“Legionella: Laboratory Diagnosis”
Dr Monique Perrin, Head of the MYCOBAC Department, National Health Laboratory.
The presentation reviewed the main diagnostic tools: urinary antigen testing, respiratory PCR, culture and additional analyses around confirmed cases. The presentation notably recalled that urinary antigen tests do not detect all serogroups, but mainly Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, and that a respiratory sample remains essential to complete the diagnosis and support the epidemiological investigation.
“Environmental risk analysis related to the circulation of Legionella”
Henry-Michel Cauchie, Head of the “Environmental Microbiology” Research Group, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology.
This presentation explained how Legionella can persist in aquatic environments, biofilms, sediments and technical installations that generate aerosols. It stressed the need for a structured environmental approach, including exposure assessment, analysis of potential sources and preparedness for outbreak situations.
Presentation: Dr Anne Vergison
Presentation: Henry-Michel Cauchie
Together, the presentations highlighted one shared priority: moving from a reactive response to a sustainable prevention strategy. Anticipating risks, coordinating stakeholders and documenting cases rapidly remain essential to limit the health impact of Legionella.
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