In news– Argentina’s mystery pneumonia outbreak, where more than ten people have been infected, has finally been identified as Legionellosis(Legionella bacteria).
About the disease-
- Legionellosis is a generic term describing the pneumonic and non-pneumonic forms of infection with the Legionella species of bacteria.
- Legionellosis varies in severity from mild to serious and can sometimes be fatal.
- Legionnaires’ disease, the pneumonic form, has an incubation period of 2 to 10 days (but up to 16 days have been recorded in some outbreaks).
- It is an important cause of community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia; and although uncommon, Legionnaires may cause outbreaks of public health significance.
- Initially, symptoms are fever, mild cough, loss of appetite, headache, malaise and lethargy, with some patients also experiencing muscle pain, diarrhoea and confusion.
- The severity of Legionnaires’ disease ranges from a mild cough to rapidly fatal pneumonia.
- Mortality from Legionnaires’ disease depends on the severity of the disease, the use of antibiotic treatment, the setting where Legionella was acquired, and whether the patient has underlying conditions, including immunosuppression.
- The death rate may be as high as 40–80% in untreated immunosuppressed patients and can be reduced to 5–30% through appropriate case management, depending on the severity of the clinical signs and symptoms. Overall, the death rate is usually between 5–10%.
- The disease typically spreads via inhalation of contaminated aerosols from contaminated water, which could come from — air conditioning cooling towers, evaporative condensers associated with air conditioning and industrial cooling, hot and cold water systems, humidifiers and whirlpool spas.
- Direct human-to-human transmission of this disease has not yet been reported.
Source: Down To Earth
