Disease Control Probing Legionnaire’s Disease

Five Norwegian tourists who were in Porec cheering for their handball team were diagnosed the legionnaire’s disease.

POREC, CROATIA – a Croatian Disease Control Centre team headed by Ira Genero Margan will arrive in Porec on Friday to check the hotels in which the Norwegian tourists stayed.  

After cheering on their national handball team at recent the world handball championship, the Norwegians were diagnosed with legionnaire’s disease. Apart from the Croatian Health Institute, the news was confirmed by the Norwegian Health Institute and it found its way to almost all news sites in Norway.

The Norwegians who contracted the disease, four men and one woman, come from different parts of Norway and they were all in Porec between January 16 through 28, where they stayed at two hotels. So there is suspicion that they may have contracted the disease in one of the facilities.

The necessary water samples were taken from the hotel and apartments. Due to the high standards of quality and maintenance we insist in the hotels due to the comfort and safety of our guests, we have reason to believe that the cause of the disease was not in our facilities, the hotel's spokeswoman, Marina Majic said.

Disease Control teams from Zagreb and Pula took water samples yesterday, but the results of the analysis have not been presented to the public.

The information about the Disease Control team arriving to Porec again was confirmed by the Health Insurance Institute. Porec Mayor Edi Stifanic said this is not a crisis situation, so he will only talk on the phone with Dr Genero Margan after the team checks the facilities.

For now there is no official confirmation that the legionnaire’s disease originated from Porec, but everything the Norwegian tourists did and went is being investigated. Since the legionnella bacteria develops in stale water and the hotel’s capacities had been open for New Year’s Eve, the hotel managers are convinced that nobody contracted the disease in their facilities. Also, the new handball hall was opened in late October, so it is improbable that the bacteria developed in a completely new air-condition system.