The third death from a mysterious lung disease in Argentina... What's the story?

Weather of Arabia - Three people were killed within a week due to an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in the province of Tucumán, northwest of Argentina. What do we know so far about the mysterious disease? Is there anything to worry about?

What do we know so far about mysterious pneumonia?

Nine people in a private medical clinic, including eight health care workers, developed pneumonia with no known cause, and the apparent symptoms were fever, body aches and shortness of breath.

Of the nine injured, two doctors died on August 29 and 31, diagnosed by X-ray of the lungs with a respiratory disease.

On 1 September, it was announced that a third person had died, a 70-year-old woman who was at the center for surgery.

People in contact with the infected have been monitored, but they have not yet developed any symptoms.

And the media reported that such ambiguous terms were used in China in the city of Wuhan in December 2019, before it later turned out to be “Covid-19”, so is there any cause for concern?

People most at risk

People with pre-existing health conditions may be more likely to develop serious complications of the disease of unknown origin.

Luis Medina Ruiz, Minister of Health of the Tucumán regional government, said at a press conference on Thursday: "All those infected had some kind of comorbidity, such as the effects of smoking (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a history of respiratory symptoms, obesity and diabetes. and high blood pressure."

Could the injuries be caused by a new disease?

It's possible that pneumonia is caused by a new disease, but further testing is needed to prove this.

Laboratory tests have ruled out the coronavirus, influenza, or the respiratory hantavirus (which is mainly spread to humans by rodents).

“First of all, we suspect corona virus, influenza, and even hantavirus, but through the research they have been excluded, and we have more than 30 possible germs that can be tested and give negative results,” Medina said.

Is there any cause for concern about the possibility of a new epidemic?

"I don't think it is particularly unusual for about two weeks to pass and the cause of the disease to remain unknown, as there is a necessary process and a logical order of testing and exclusion to be followed," says Jake Dunning of Oxford University.

"The more time passes, the more concerns will arise about a new pathogen," he adds.

He continues: "It is better not to speculate about the cause of the disease. All I can say is that on the global map of newly discovered infections of humans that have occurred during the past few decades, many viruses have appeared, especially zoonotic viruses."

Dunning also stressed that people should not panic . "Similar events have happened in the past where the cause was eventually discovered and we didn't see a new epidemic, " he says.

What is done when tracing the pathogen?

The medical center's air conditioning and water supply units are tested for possible contamination.

According to experts, if the "possible pathogen" is not detected through standard hospital tests available on site, the actions that are usually taken are to send samples to specialized laboratories that have the capacity to perform further tests, which will take some time, and this may It includes testing samples from those affected as well as taking environmental samples at a health care center.

The Minister of Health in the region advised citizens to follow preventive measures of regular hand washing, wearing masks, and social distancing, which can help reduce the risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

Determining the cause of the outbreak will help determine treatments.