Health Officials Identify Cause of Pneumonia Cluster in Argentina as Legionella After Infection of Nearly a Dozen People

(Photo : Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt / AFP) (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images)
Argentinian health officials have identified the cause of a pneumonia cluster in the country as Legionella after the infection of nearly a dozen people. So far, three patients have already died to the illness that is similar to the coronavirus.

Health officials have identified a cluster of pneumonia cases in Tucuman, Argentina, to have been caused by legionella, the bacteria that is responsible for causing Legionnaires' disease, said the Pan American Health Organization.

There have been a total of 11 pneumonia cases as of Saturday identified as part of the outbreak associated with a health clinic in the city of San Miguel Tucuman. This includes four deaths in patients with underlying health conditions, the organization said.

Legionnaires' Disease

On Saturday, the organization added that it was informed by the Argentina Ministry of Health that legionella was the cause of the outbreak, adding that authorities were now investigating the cause. The ministry is reportedly "collecting environmental samples, conducting risk assessments, and implementing actions in the healthcare clinic related to the outbreak."

The update noted that "PAHO is providing support to Argentinian health authorities from its Headquarters and the PAHO Country Office in Argentina to investigate and characterize the outbreak.

Legionnaires' disease is a very serious type of pneumonia that is caused by legionella bacteria that infects people when they breathe in small droplets of water containing the bacteria, which causes an infection in the lungs. Fortunately, the infection can be treated with antibiotics, as per CNN.

The bacteria can occur in shower heads and faucets, hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, decorative fountains, or plumbing systems in large buildings. In an earlier news release, Argentina's National Ministry of Health reported that some health care workers at the clinic started to have symptoms between Aug. 18 and Aug. 22.

Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include fever, muscle and abdominal pain, and shortness of breath, with several patients having pneumonia in both lungs. During a news conference, Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said that Legionnaires' disease has a significant impact on people with risk conditions over 50 years old.

According to Reuters, the illness was discovered and named in 1976 when an outbreak occurred among people who attended a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an annual increase in infection of five times between 2000 and 2017.

A Cluster of Pneumonia Cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said that it was already monitoring the cluster of cases of pneumonia from an unknown cause in Argentina. The outbreak in the country has already taken the lives of three infected people. The victims include two health care workers and one patient.

The latest victim of the legionella bacteria was a 70-year-old woman who had been admitted to the clinic for surgery. Medina said that the victim could have been "patient zero" but noted that information will be discovered amid the investigation.

On Wednesday, Medina said that the patients were struck with "a severe respiratory condition with bilateral pneumonia," which is very similar to the coronavirus. The symptoms that the patients showed included vomiting, a high fever, diarrhea, and body aches. Out of the six people who were being treated, four were in serious condition in the hospital and two were in isolation at home, CBS News reported.