First EURL-PH-LEGI laboratory network meeting

The first EURL-PH-LEGI meeting took place in Rome on 27 October 2026, bringing together representatives from ECDC and EU laboratories, with a focus on Nordic countries, to exchange knowledge and experiences and discuss current challenges and priorities in the field of Legionella.

The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to review the activities of the EURL-PH-LEGI, discuss European surveillance activities, and share experiences from national reference laboratories.

Sharing experiences and strengthening collaboration

The programme covered a broad range of topics relevant to EURL-PH-LEGI activities. Participants shared experiences from country visits to Lithuania, Ireland, and Slovakia, highlighting lessons learned and approaches to establishing and strengthening national reference laboratory services.

Further discussions focused on practical experiences in reference services, illustrating the importance of collaboration between EURL-PH-LEGI and EU public health laboratories.

Advancing laboratory practices and diagnostic capabilities

The afternoon sessions addressed the EURL-PH-LEGI Laboratory Handbook and diagnostic practices for Legionella longbeachae. A dedicated focus group provided an opportunity to review survey findings on current diagnostic practices and outbreak investigations, exchange best practices, and identify opportunities for improvement.

Participants also shared national laboratory experiences and discussed key challenges in Legionella isolation, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), genomic surveillance, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS).

Looking ahead

The meeting concluded with the launch of an evaluation survey for EURL-PH-LEGI activities, identifying key strengths, challenges, and priorities for future work.

EURL-PH-LEGI thanks all participants and contributors for their engagement and valuable input.