A 48-year-old man died affected by bilateral pneumonia of unknown origin in Tucumán and there are already four fatalities from this cause, while new cases have been reported in recent hours and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that it monitors the outbreak with Argentine health authorities.
“The Ministry of Public Health reports the death of a patient linked to the conglomerate of cases of pneumonia of unknown origin. It is a 48-year-old male patient, with comorbidities, who was hospitalized in serious condition in the sector public,” it was reported shortly before noon in an official statement.
Thus, there are four people who died as a result of bilateral pneumonia for a cause that is still being established and that they were infected in a private clinic in the capital of Tucumán.
The Tucuman health portfolio also reported this Saturday the appearance of the case number 11 and said that “it is a 64-year-old male patient, with comorbidities, hospitalized in serious condition with mechanical respiratory assistance, in the private sector.”
Also, The Tucuman government had reported on Friday that an 81-year-old man, with comorbidities, was hospitalized in serious condition in a public sector health facility with symptoms of bilateral pneumonia.
As officially reported, this person had previously been hospitalized in the same private sanatorium as the nine patients who had been reported with the same outbreak until the day before, four of whom died.
“The Argentine Ministry of Health and the provincial health authorities are working together to investigate the outbreak, as well as carrying out contact tracing and specific control actions in the health center involved”Pan American Health Organization
While the results of the samples sent to the Malbrán Institute are awaited To determine the cause of the outbreak, PAHO reported that it is in contact with and monitors, together with the Argentine Ministry of Health, the cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Tucumán.
“Preliminary tests have been negative for the most common viral, bacterial and fungal agents,” said PAHO.
And he highlighted that authorities continue to investigate the outbreak and that the samples were sent to the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS/Malbrán) to expand diagnostic studies, which are underway.
On August 30, the Minister of Health of Tucumán, Luis Medina Ruiz, announced at a press conference that there was an outbreak of bilateral pneumonia of unknown origin.
PAHO is in contact with the Argentine Ministry of Health as the country investigates a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause in the province of Tucumán, in northern Argentina.https://t.co/aXXNHA1Dd1
— PAHO/WHO (@opsoms) September 2, 2022
The first six registered cases corresponded to five health workers and a patient who was hospitalized in the intensive care unit of a private sanatorium in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, who began symptoms between August 18 and 22, presenting fever, myalgia, abdominal pain and dyspnea.
All diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, a situation originating in the same health care center.
On September 1, the Tucumán health authorities confirmed that three more people had symptoms, all health workers, who between August 20 and 23 had similar symptoms to the six previously reported cases.
Until this Saturday, 10 cases related to the private health center had been officially reported, including three deathsand now the 64-year-old man has joined the list
PAHO noted that the preliminary investigation indicated that the deceased patients had some type of comorbidity.
“The Argentine Ministry of Health and the provincial health authorities are working together to investigate the outbreak, as well as carrying out contact tracing and specific control actions in the health center involved,” the agency said, adding that “it is is following up on this event together with the country’s health authorities”.
