1. Home
  2. About ECDC
  3. What we do
  4. Partners and networks
  5. Disease and laboratory networks
  6. European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet)

European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet)

The European Legionnaires’ disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet) carries out European surveillance of Legionnaires' disease in Europe and is coordinated by ECDC. All EU Member States, and Iceland and Norway, participate in the network. The members of ELDSNet are epidemiologists or microbiologists nominated by the national public health authorities.

Coordination and collaboration

ELDSNet is coordinated by ECDC with the support of a coordination committee consisting of representatives from the EU Member States. The committee advises ECDC on ways to strengthen and improve Legionnaires’ disease surveillance and prevention in Europe. The committee also reviews technical documents relevant to the network and assists ECDC in organising the annual network meeting. ELDSNet also collaborates with partners, such as World Health Organisation (WHO), public health authorities of non-EU countries and tour operators.

Background

In 1986, the European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI) was set up to enable international collaboration across Europe with regards to Legionnaires' disease. EWGLI introduced the European Surveillance Scheme for Travel Associated Legionnaires’ Disease, that later came to be known as EWGLINET. The scheme was coordinated by the National Bacteriology Laboratory in Stockholm and funded by the WHO until 1993, when the coordination was transferred to the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre in London and the European Commission became the main source of financial support. Between 2007 and 2010, EWGLINET was funded by ECDC. Since April 2010, it is coordinated by ECDC and the name of the scheme changed to European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet). The operating procedures of the surveillance scheme for travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease in the EU/EEA was updated in December 2017 (previous version January 2012).

European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet) - Operating procedures

ELDSNET forms

These forms are used by network members to report results of cluster investigations.

Form A: Two Week Post-Cluster Report

Form B: Six Week Post-Cluster Report

Form C: One Week Post-Rapidly Evolving Cluster Report

Contact

Please contact ELDSNet at: eldsnet@ecdc.europa.eu

Tools