Legionnaires’ disease: A critical report of the pneumonia of unknown origin outbreak in Argentina

Authors

  • Evangeline Reiko Kenrick Gardiner UNSW
  • Adriana Notaras UNSW
  • Mohana Priya Kunasekaran UNSW
  • Ashley Quigley UNSW

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.180

Keywords:

Pneumonia, Legionnaires, Legionnaires' Disease, Legionellosis, Argentina

Abstract

An outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin was identified in a health facility in Tucumán, Argentina in August 2022. Initial laboratory testing has suggested Legionella pneumophila and Legionella spp. as the causative agent of this pneumonia cluster. However, confirmation of these early results is ongoing and requires identification of the bacteria in environmental samples, matching of environmental samples to patient samples and wider testing of those affected by the outbreak. Official identification of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak faces many challenges including limited diagnostic capabilities in local laboratories, reduced sensitivity of available tests and inadequate clinical samples. In the absence of official identification of the source of the outbreak, other differential diagnoses for pneumonia should not be overlooked as this may result in missed cases and inadequate control measures being implemented.

Downloads

Published

2022-12-06

How to Cite

Gardiner, E. R. K., Notaras, A., Kunasekaran, M. P., & Quigley, A. (2022). Legionnaires’ disease: A critical report of the pneumonia of unknown origin outbreak in Argentina . Global Biosecurity, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.180

Issue

Vol. 4 (2022)

Section

Watching Briefs

License

Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Received 2022-10-04
Accepted 2022-10-31
Published 2022-12-06