MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mysterious respiratory disease in Argentine province kills two

All six patients have a common link: the Luz Médica Sanatorium in Tucumán. And they all had bilateral pneumonia

Health authorities in the Argentine province of Tucumán (center, north) have reported the second death of a still unidentified lung disease that has spread locally over the past few weeks, it was announced.

“The [provincial] Ministry of Health regrets to report the death of one of the patients linked to the outbreak of pneumonia, whose etiology is under study,” a statement read. It was a 45-year-old nurse with comorbidities, who had been hospitalized since August 21. Three patients remain hospitalized in serious condition.

The province is on alert since the appearance of the respiratory disease that has not yet been identified, as tests have failed to detect any known virus or bacteria.

“We have detected an outbreak of bilateral pneumonia in six patients; this disease is a form of manifestation of many respiratory diseases. At this time we first suspected covid and influenza, both influenza A and B; even Hanta Virus, but through investigation, they have been ruled out. We have not yet found the etiology despite continuing to study not only viruses but also bacteria, with cultures by means of a study called FilmArray. We have that technology in Tucumán, which investigates 25 germs, and they were also negative,” Tucumán's Health Minister Luis Medina Ruiz explained.

“It is possibly an infectious etiological agent, we have to prove that and look for what it is; if it is a viral infectious germ of not so severe contagion. We are taking all the preventive measures since we have acquired a lot of experience with influenza and covid,” he went on.

These precautions include face masks and constant hand washing, “which is what we have been advocating from the beginning,” the official added.

“Of course, when an outbreak occurs, we carry out isolation. We have finalized a meeting with the committee of experts to make a joint decision that is the most appropriate and timely to protect our society,” Medina Ruiz insisted.

Medical Association of Tucumán chairmen Héctor Sale told the local newspaper La Gaceta that the malady would not be contagious from person to person since close contacts of the current patients have no symptoms. It is “an aggressive torpid disease” that “is affecting healthcare personnel.”

All six patients have a common link: the Luz Médica Sanatorium in Tucumán. And they all had bilateral pneumonia.