Request CDC Assistance
CDC can assist health department personnel with investigating potential outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease. The public should direct inquiries about Legionnaires’ disease in general to CDC-INFO at 1-800-CDC-INFO, (800-232-4636), TTY: (888) 232-6348, or email CDC-INFO. You should direct questions about specific outbreak investigations to the relevant state, territorial, or local health department.
Epidemiologic Assistance
CDC staff are available to provide limited consultation on investigations via phone and email, including facilitating communication among state health departments with travel-associated cases or outbreaks. Field assistance is available via the Epi-Aid mechanism.
To request epidemiologic or environmental health assistance, email travellegionella@cdc.gov.
Laboratory Testing
For details on how to store and ship specimens for Legionella testing, view the CDC test directory.
CDC’s Legionella laboratory can provide services, including culture of clinical specimens and isolate typing. Public health laboratories are encouraged to submit clinical isolates for confirmation. The laboratory requires a consultation prior to submission of clinical specimens. Contact the laboratory by emailing legionellalab@cdc.gov. When testing is requested as part of an outbreak investigation, epidemiologic consultation is also needed.
CDC laboratory testing of environmental samples and isolates is only done under special circumstances (e.g., an outbreak investigation involving CDC or with prior permission from CDC for submission of specimens).