Deadly Pneumonia Outbreak Claims Three Lives at Popular Tourist Destination

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has reported that a months-long outbreak of a deadly form of pneumonia has claimed three lives.

Prevailing in Northern Italy ’s tourist destination of Lombardy since April 11, there have thus far been 49 cases of the so-named Legionnaires disease, Knewz.com has learned.

The ECDC goes on to say that 44 cases were identified in Corsico and another five in Buccinasco—both of which were municipalities near the central Milan area.

Notably, the infections were seen to affect both visitors and residents.

The ECDC has since cautioned visitors to wash out their showers with hot water—especially if the ablution facilities of the respective accommodations have not been used for a while.

It further noted that all who experience symptoms of the deadly lung infection–which are usually “flu-like illness[es] with a high temperature (fever), cough or shortness of breath during your stay or for up to two weeks after return home,”–should seek medical attention.

The ECDC also cautioned people who exhibit the symptoms to tell their practitioners that they have been to a legionnaire disease hotspot.

The European health agency’s warning explained that the illness is caused by bacteria that enter the human body through the respiratory tract, and while it cannot be transmitted from person to person, it can be inhaled from other sources of water droplets.

“It is spread by breathing in bacteria which is found in water spray or tiny water droplets in the air. Outbreaks have been linked to heating or cooling systems, showers, hot tubs, fountains, and swimming pools,” the advisory elaborated.

“The risk from the infection is greatest to smokers, older people, those with a chronic lung condition, and those with a weakened immune system. There is no vaccine against Legionnaires’ disease.”

The disease is not exclusive to Europe. The Minnesota Department of Health published an article on the subject in August 2024:

“Both epidemiologic and laboratory data point to areas of the municipal water system as the source of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in the northeastern Minnesota city of Grand Rapids.”

It further noted that from April 2023, the state had detected 14 cases.

According to the American Centers for Communicable Diseases (CDC), the ailment has its origins deep in the United States ’ history.

“Legionella was discovered after an outbreak in 1976 among people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion. Those who were affected suffered from a type of pneumonia that eventually became known as Legionnaires’ disease,” the government institution wrote .

The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has since recorded an average of 6,000 cases annually.

According to the CDC, one in every ten of this number is likely to die—a mortality rate that is substantially higher than for those who contract the disease while in hospital (one in four).