Laboratory guidelines and networks for Legionnaires’ disease
The European Commission designates EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) for public health to support national reference laboratories in improving diagnostics, testing methods, and surveillance of serious cross-border health threats. The purpose is to facilitate data comparability, and promote harmonised approaches and best practices across EU Member States. EURLs carry out a range of critical tasks to strengthen public health laboratory capacity across the EU.
The EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health on Legionella (EURL-PH-LEGI) aims to provide expertise in the field of Legionella to national reference laboratories of EU/EEA Member States.
Guidance
EURL-PH-LEGI has published a handbook with practical guidance on methods, protocols and good laboratory practices to support the timely and accurate diagnosis and detection of Legionella in clinical and environmental specimens, as well as the identification and confirmation of infection sources.
By promoting harmonized laboratory practices and strengthening laboratory capacity, the handbook aims to support surveillance, facilitate the detection and investigation of outbreaks, and enhance preparedness and coordinated responses to potential cross-border health threats.
External quality assessments
ECDC supports external quality assessment schemes to strengthen capability and use of reliable laboratory methodologies and ensure comparability of data for EU-level surveillance purposes. The external quality assessments (EQAs) are conducted by EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) in public health.