According to the media, there is an outbreak of legionellosis in the Norwegian towns of Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg. The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reports that 11 cases have so far been confirmed, including 2 deaths (females, 70-80 years of age).

Investigations are ongoing, cooling towers being the main suspects and some having already been closed down pending results of test samples.
 
Altogether five persons have died and one is critically ill in hospital, following an outbreak of the legionnaires' disease in the Fredrikstad and Sarpsborg region.

By Monday evening another 30 were found to have been infected by legionella and have been hospitalized, and the condition is serious for three of these.

Most of the dead and infected are elderly or weakened by other diseases.  The disease is not spread by personal contact, but through the air, often from water vapour from large air condition systems.

The source of the infection has not been found, but large air condition systems in the two cities have been closed down.

In 2001, seven persons died from the legionnaires' disease in the city of Stavanger.
 

# # #

Pure Air Control Services, Inc.

1-800-422-7873