Outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease at a Belfast shipyard in men exposed to welding fumes, Northern Ireland, April–May 2015: preliminary report

L Patterson; N Irvine; A Wilson; L Doherty; A Loughrey; L Jessop

doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES2015.20.21.21138

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Outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease at a Belfast shipyard in men exposed to welding fumes, Northern Ireland, April–May 2015: preliminary report
L Patterson^1,2 , N Irvine² , A Wilson² , L Doherty² , A Loughrey³ , L Jessop²
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Affiliations: ¹ UK Field Epidemiology Training Programme, Public Health England, United Kingdom ² Public Health Agency, Health Protection Service, Belfast, Northern Ireland ³ Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Correspondence:
L Jessop
lucy.jessop hscni.net
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Citation style for this article: Patterson L, Irvine N, Wilson A, Doherty L, Loughrey A, Jessop L. Outbreak of invasive pneumococcal disease at a Belfast shipyard in men exposed to welding fumes, Northern Ireland, April–May 2015: preliminary report. Euro Surveill. 2015;20(21):pii=21138. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES2015.20.21.21138 Received: 20 May 2015

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Abstract

We report an outbreak of four confirmed cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in individuals occupationally exposed to welding fumes, at a Belfast shipyard (Northern Ireland). All cases were hospitalised. A high-risk sub-group of 679 workers has been targeted for antibiotic prophylaxis and pneumococcal vaccination. Physicians and public health institutions outside Northern Ireland should be alert to individuals presenting with pneumonia or IPD and recent links to the shipyard, to facilitate early assessment and treatment.