Legionellosis Disease:
Argentina’s mystery pneumonia outbreak, where 11 people have been infected has finally been identified as Legionellosis by the country’s health ministry.
- Legionellosis is a “pneumonia-like illness that varies in severity from mild febrile illness to a serious and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia,” according to the WHO.
- 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, according to the WHO.
- There is concern that it could contribute to the spread of these highly disease-causing strains by linking modern man-made water systems through human transmission.”
