4 people died! Pneumonia of unknown origin in Argentina! “Confirmed Legionella outbreak” →

On September 3, local time, Pablo Yedlin, Chairman of the Health Committee of the Argentine Senate and former Director of the Public Health Bureau of Tucumán Province, said in an interview with the media that According to laboratory data, in Tucumán, The cause of the unexplained pneumonia discovered in the Provincial Luz Hospital was Legionella.
Earlier in the day, Argentina’s Minister of Health Carla Bisotti also confirmed that a patient sample tested positive for Legionella and that the specific type of Legionella was being verified. He said, “From a professional point of view, it can be confirmed that this is an outbreak of Legionella, possibly Legionella pneumophila.”
Recently, many cases of pneumonia of unknown origin have appeared in Tucumán Province in northern Argentina. The first cases all appeared in Luz Hospital in the province, and most of them were medical staff of the hospital. The hospital has been sealed and has stopped accepting new patients. Argentina’s Ministry of Health stated that the first batch of patients successively developed symptoms such as vomiting, high fever, muscle aches, and diarrhea between August 18 and 22. Imaging examinations showed bilateral lung infection. After testing, they were ruled out for COVID-19, Type A and Type B. Influenza and the possibility of infection by a variety of common pathogens. As of the morning of September 3,the province has reported a total of 11 cases of pneumonia of unknown cause and a total of 4 deaths.
Legionella is a facultative intracellular pathogenic bacterium that is commonly found in natural freshwater and artificial waters (tap water, hot showers, central air conditioning condensate water, cooling tower water, etc.) , or parasitize within the cells of protozoa (such as amoeba). </span