1999 Bovenkarspel legionellosis outbreak

52°42′08″N 5°15′04″E / 52.70223°N 5.25101°E / 52.70223; 5.25101

1999 Bovenkarspel legionellosis outbreak

Legionella pneumophila bacterium
Date	25 February 1999 (1999-02-25)
Location	Bovenkarspel, the Netherlands
Deaths	at least 32
Non-fatal injuries	206

The Bovenkarspel legionellosis outbreak (Dutch: Legionellaramp; Legionella disaster) began on 25 February 1999 in Bovenkarspel, the Netherlands, and was one of the largest outbreaks of legionellosis in history.^[1] With at least 32 dead and 206 severe infections, it was the deadliest legionellosis outbreak since the original 1976 outbreak in Philadelphia, United States.

Between 19 and 28 February 1999, the Westfriese Flora took place in Bovenkarspel, one of the largest indoor flower exhibitions in the world (later the Holland Flowers Festival). A vendor had several recreational hot tubs on display, with one of them filled from a long-inactive firehose and heated to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). In the water that had previously stagnated inside the hose, a very aggressive type of legionella pneumophila bacterium had developed.^[2][3]

• A Large Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease at a Flower Show, the Netherlands, 1999, Jeroen W. Den Boer, Ed P.F. Yzerman, Joop Schellekens et al., Emerging Infectious Diseases, Volume 8, Number 1—January 2002
• The Westfriese Flora flower exhibition and fair, Legionnaires` Disease website
• (in Dutch) 25 februari 1999: Legionellabesmetting Westfriese Flora, Bovenkarspel, Zwaailichten disaster website (archive)