Microbiology specialists, vermicon AG, Munich, Germany, have expanded their portfolio with a reliable, fast and highly specific detection system for Legionella in wastewater treatment plants. The assay is based on the VIT® gene probe technology and is available as a service.Generally, conventional testing of water for Legionella is time consuming and often not specific enough. In the current Legionella outbreak in Warstein, Germany, the analysis is further complicated by having to detect Legionella in wastewater which is difficult using conventional methods due to high cells numbers and large microbial diversity present in the samples.Vermicon's fast, highly specific detection system for absolute quantification of Legionella in drinking water is well established. Based on the VIT® gene probe technology, bacteria are labelled with dye marked gene probes and can subsequently be detected under a fluorescent microscope. The new test for detection of Legionella in wastewater is based on the same approach and therefore allows for the first time a fast and safe identification of Legionella including Legionella pneumophila, directly in a complex sample like wastewater treatment plant's discharge.