Argentinian health authorities are investigating a cluster of pneumonia cases from an unknown cause that has led to three deaths out of nine cases identified so far.
(Bloomberg) — Argentinian health authorities are investigating a cluster of pneumonia cases from an unknown cause that has led to three deaths out of nine cases identified so far.
The illnesses have been centered around a private medical clinic in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina’s fifth-largest city, located in the northwest part of the country. The regional health ministry there said it has traced the onset of symptoms to some time between Aug. 18 and Aug. 22, according to an Aug. 31 notice posted on its website.
Out of the nine known patients, three have died, three are hospitalized and one is home isolating in stable condition, the World Health Organization said in an email. The patients symptoms have included fever, muscle aches, abdominal pain and shortness of breath, according to the Pan American Health Organization, which acts as the regional office for the WHO in the Americas.
Samples from the patients have been tested by local public health authorities for respiratory viruses including Covid-19 and flu, as well as other known viral, bacterial and fungal agents, according to a statement from the PAHO. All tests so far have come back negative, meaning the cause of the pneumonia hasn’t been identified yet.
An Aug. 30 report first identified six patients, all of whom had contact with one another at the clinic. That first group consisted of five health-care workers and one patient who was hospitalized at the intensive care unit at the clinic. On Sept. 1, another three health-care workers were found to have the illness.
Several infectious disease experts said on social media that the concentration of cases among health-care workers could indicate human-to-human spread of a pathogen, which would be a cause for concern.
The PAHO and the WHO are assisting in the investigation and are providing support to local health authorities, the organizations said. Contact tracing and control actions related to the health-care clinic where the outbreak occurred are being performed by local health authorities, the WHO said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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