Alarm in Argentina: What is known about the outbreak of a rare disease that has killed three people in a few days?

The health authorities of Argentina confirmed this Thursday the third death related to the outbreak of an unknown disease that causes bilateral pneumonia, and which was detected in the private Luz Médica clinic in the province of San José de Tucumán, in the north of the country.

At a press conference, Luis Medina Ruiz, Minister of Public Health of Tucumán, explained that the deceased was a 70-year-old woman who was initially hospitalized for a gallbladder operation. The patient relapsed and had to be operated on two more times. From then on, she presented a pulmonary infection, which coincided with the appearance of symptoms in the clinic staff, so she could be patient zero, informed RT.

“Although it is not yet clear who was first, the woman was initially considered patient zero, but this is being studied based on the deepening of the analyzes that are being carried out”, said Medina. The other two fatalities are a doctor and a nurse.

Medina added that three new infections were also detected in people who have the same clinical characteristics of bilateral pneumonia and the epidemiological link to their place of work. The first case is a woman, pharmacy assistant, 40 years old. She is «admitted to a Public Hospital in Tucumán» and has a fever, «non-severe» bilateral pneumonia and is under clinical study.

The other patient is a 44-year-old nurse who remains at her home under medical surveillance and who, at the moment, does not require further care. The other case is a 30-year-old male nurse, «with comorbidities», who has been hospitalized since Thursday morning.

Medina reported that the outbreak of the disease has affected nine people. Of the first six cases detected, all complicated by bilateral pneumonia, three people are hospitalized with mechanical ventilation and a reserved prognosis, and the other three have died.

What do the Argentine authorities say?

According to the health authorities of Tucumán, the first symptoms were detected between August 20 and 23. The first cases were the elderly patient who died and five workers from the Luz Médica clinic, a place that is now in conditions of isolation.

The first of the deaths was recorded last Sunday, August 28, and the person was a doctor from the aforementioned private clinic. That death set off the alarms of the authorities, because the patient’s health deteriorated in less than a week.

The ‘state of alert’ increased on Wednesday afternoon, when the second victim died, a 45-year-old nurse who had been transferred to the Eva Perón public hospital since August 21.

The Argentine authorities reported that they are carrying out all the necessary investigations so as to detect the origin of the strange medical condition, through different types of studies that include blood, urine, feces and symptomatology tests.

So far, they have ruled out that the condition is related to diseases such as covid-19, legionella, influenza A and B, hanta virus, as well as 25 other possible germs that have tested negative in clinical studies.Authorities are asking people to stay calm 

Minister Medina announced on Wednesday that the samples of the first six patients are already in the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS) «Dr. Carlos Malbrán” and added that they hope that, before the weekend, there might be some answer about the disease.

«We continue to investigate in terms of the environment since we do not want to rule out any etiology. Among the possible causes are, of course, infectious and others that are toxic or environmental. That is why we are analyzing the water, air conditioning discharges, that is, other possible situations that generate similar episodes», commented Medina.

The only thing they have managed to identify, so far in Argentina, is that all patients have in common «severe respiratory symptoms with bilateral pneumonia» and they have seen that the lungs are compromised in a similar way to the images presented by covid-19 patients, although that option has already been ruled out, said Medina.

The regional authority called on the population not to be alarmed. «We want to reassure the population that the situation is under control, patients are hospitalized, isolated and there is a strict monitoring, of their conditions, by our teams» .

He also asked not to echo circulating information that is not of an official nature. “As soon as we have any news, either due to the result of an investigation, the aggravation of a patient or new infections, we will communicate it (to the public). Our way is going to be this one, the official way».