A mysterious "pneumonia of unknown origin" is spreading in Argentina, inflicting nine people in which six are hospitalized and three have already died. Many have said that this scenario is similar to the outbreak of COVID-19 more than 2 years ago.
The Times reported that health authorities at the ministry of health in Tucumán have reported that all positive cases in the province have been experiencing symptoms of the mysterious respiratory illness, wherein eight of them are the medical staff of the same clinic. The illness has already killed three patients since Monday, including the 70-year-old woman who was admitted for surgery in the clinic.
Pneumonia-Like Illness Compared to Other Respiratory Diseases
The six infected people in Argentina came to the Tucumán private clinic between August 18 and 22 complaining of symptoms. According to Metro, it has sparked concerns of similarity in common sicknesses like COVID-19, influenza, and hantavirus. But local media reported that doctors have ruled out those diseases by testing.
The World Health Organization has already been alerted of the ongoing disease outbreak and the epidemic intelligence of the European Center for Disease Control is already tracking cases. Experts warn that the new outbreak shows people's collective vulnerability to infectious diseases.
But more information is needed before the alarm bells are activated. Tucumán's minister of health Luis Medina Ruiz said this week that the common factor with these infected people is that it resembles the severe respiratory condition with bilateral pneumonia, while its X-ray images are similar to COVID-19.
Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global health at Edinburgh University, pointed out that the news of the mysterious pneumonia is concerning but information on the mode of transmission and the underlying cause is needed.
Meanwhile, virology professor Jonathan Ball of the University of Nottingham theorized that it could simply be a respiratory virus that diagnostic laboratories usually do not test. That means that the illness might not be a new disease, but just a cluster of rare events from a known illness.
He added that the public should expect more until the world settles back to the seasonal ebb and flow of respiratory viruses. His comment comes after the COVID-19 alert level in the UK has been downgraded as the number of cases drops.
Causes and Symptoms of Pneumonia
According to Mayo Clinic, pneumonia happens when the air sacs in one or both lungs are filled with fluid or pus that causes cough with phlegm or pus, chills, fever, and difficulty in breathing.
The typical signs and symptoms of pneumonia include chest pain when breathing or coughing, confusion or changes in mental awareness, cough, fatigue, fever, nausea, low body temperature, and shortness of breath. These symptoms could vary from mild to severe, depending on the type of germs causing the infection, age, and overall health status.
Many germs can cause pneumonia, but the most common are bacteria and viruses from the air people breathe. Pneumonia is classified based on the type of germs that caused the infection.
The body usually has a defense mechanism to prevent these germs from causing an infection to the lungs, but they can sometimes overpower the immune system even if the person is perfectly fit and healthy.
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