Third country visit in Slovakia

Bratislava, 19-21 May 2026 — Experts from the European Reference Laboratory for Legionella (EURL-PH-LEGI) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) carried out a country visit to Public Health Authority of the Slovakian Republic (PHASR) to support Slovakia in strengthening national diagnostic and environmental detection capacities for Legionella.

In 2024 in Slovakia, the notification rate for LD was 1.99 per 100,000 inhabitants with 108 cases reported to ECDC. Routine clinical diagnostics used in Slovakia include urinary antigen tests, culture from respiratory samples, PCR and serology. Environmental surveillance (water sampling from hot-water systems, cooling towers, etc.) is done routinely according to the legislation and as part of outbreak investigations. The visit was organised following PHASR's request for support in improving clinical diagnostics and reviewing water testing practices.

The expert team—Pr. Sophie Jarraud (HCL, France), Dr. Camille Jacqueline (HCL, France), Dr. Markus Petzold (UKD, Germany) and Maximilian Riess (ECDC, Sweden)—worked closely with specialists from PHASR and Institute of Epidemiology in Bratislava. A hybrid stakeholder meeting gathered representatives from multiple regions and clinical services.

During the visit, experts reviewed laboratory workflows, diagnostic practices, PCR protocol validation, and culture requirements for clinical samples. Discussions also focused on whole genome sequencing (WGS), the proposed EU/EEA genomic surveillance scheme, and building a national WGS database through the sequencing of clinical and environmental isolates.

Key recommendations were shared with the visited laboratory which showed a high satisfaction regarding the technical country visit.