This Saturday, September 3, the Argentine Minister of Health indicated that the investigations carried out within the Malbranen Institute, a reference in the country, had made it possible to determine the origin of these fatal bilateral pneumonias.
The global scientific community was following the case closely. In the city of Tucuman, Argentina, four people have died in less than a week following a previously inexplicable pneumonia. The victims were all linked to a private clinic where “patient zero” had been identified. The symptoms, close to those of Covid-19, raised fears of the emergence of a new pathogen, as explained to us on Friday Montpellier epidemiologist Mircea Sophonea.
A bacterium of the legionella family
This Saturday, September 3, the Argentine Minister of Health indicated that the investigations carried out within the Malbranen Institute, a reference in the country, had made it possible to determine the origin of these fatal bilateral pneumonias. The causative agent is a bacterium of the Legionella family. Its precise type is still under investigation.
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In total, eleven cases have been detected and four deaths are linked to this bacterium. “Measures are underway in the clinic to identify if the bacterial agent is in the water, and on the accumulator tank”, in order to be able “to use the clinic once more without any risk”, declared Saturday Carla Vizzotti, the health Minister. Legionellosis is a serious lung infection, and contamination can occur through inhalation. The air conditioning system is therefore also scrutinized by health investigators.
