18 July 2012 Last updated at 07:06 ET

Edinburgh Legionnaires' outbreak: Officials declare it is over

The Legionnaires' outbreak in Edinburgh has been officially declared over by public health agencies.

The disease has claimed the lives of three men since it first emerged at the end of May.

To date, 101 people have been treated as either confirmed or suspected cases.

NHS Lothian said it is continuing surveillance for symptoms because it expects further cases will emerge in people who have been ill for some time.

An investigation into the cause of the outbreak is continuing. It is thought to have been caused by a cooling tower in the city.

Laboratory work

Dr Alison McCallum, NHS Lothian's director of public health and health policy, said: "As we have seen over the last week, we can expect further cases who have been ill for some time to continue to come forward and our increased surveillance will continue.

"However, all the evidence is suggesting that the action taken when the outbreak was first identified was effective and all cases fall within the expected incubation period, so the decision has been made to declare the outbreak over.

"Laboratory work is ongoing to try and identify the source conclusively but, as we have said from the start, it may not be possible to do so.

"There is also more work to be done to gain a better understanding of the scale of the outbreak and how to manage outbreaks in the future.

"We hope that people who are approached to participate in these studies will come forward and help us with this significant piece of research."