Deja flu? Alert on spread of mysterious pneumonia ‘that has sickened dozens of healthy people in Argentina’
A mysterious respiratory illness has hospitalized dozens of people in Argentina in an outbreak that bears eerie similarities to the arrival of Covid.
In the capital Buenos Aires, sixty patients have been affected by ‘severe atypical pneumonia’.
An alert about the cluster of cases was issued last night through an international public health surveillance system.
Covid was brought to the world’s attention in late 2019 as a result of the same database, called ProMed.
Officials in Beijing sounded the alarm over an “undiagnosed viral pneumonia” outbreak in Wuhan, which would later prove to be “ground zero” of the pandemic.
Last night’s alert, sent anonymously ‘via a person known to ProMed’, read: ‘Over the past 30 days there appears to have been an increase in severe atypical pneumonia requiring critical care in Buenos Aires.
‘The affected individuals are usually young people without major risk factors.’
Patients require mechanical ventilation to help breathe.
No official statements have been made by Argentine officials, meaning details about the actual disease are scarce.
But the warning suggested that a third of sick patients showed signs of psittacosis, caused by a type of chlamydia common in birds.
Many of the affected patients had no apparent history of contact with birds, the alert said.
Psittacosis, a flu-like illness nicknamed parrot fever, typically causes mild symptoms such as headaches and coughing. However, in severe cases it can lead to pneumonia.
It can be especially problematic for the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.
The alert added: ‘Although psittacosis appears to be the etiology of some cases, more than one causative agent may be involved. ProMED would appreciate more information on these cases.”
Experts today called on health chiefs not to be ‘complacent’ in the face of the threat of a new respiratory disease.
But they stressed that this is “unlikely to pose a wider threat”.
Respected infectious disease expert Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it was ‘too early’ to confirm whether ‘psittacosis is the only problem’.
He said: ‘It would be unusual but not unheard of for two different pathogens to cause simultaneous outbreaks of severe respiratory illness.
“So over time it may be that even more of these cases are due to psittacosis.”
Professor Hunter, a trusted voice during the Covid crisis, added: ‘Typically most cases are related to contact with birds, either as pets or professionally.
‘However, I know of at least one study that suggested that mowing lawns was a risk factor.
No official statements have been made by Argentine officials, meaning details about the actual illness are scarce. But the warning suggested a third of sick patients showed signs of psittacosis, caused by a type of chlamydia common in birds. Psittacosis, a flu-like illness nicknamed parrot fever, typically causes mild symptoms such as headaches and coughing. However, in severe cases it can lead to pneumonia
‘Presumably the mowing caused the bird droppings to become airborne and then inhaled by the person mowing.
‘That said, it is unlikely that this will pose a wider threat than the current area. “But we still shouldn’t be complacent, avian psittacosis can spread to birds in other areas.”
The latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show six laboratory-confirmed cases of psittacosis in England in 2023.
In Britain, parakeets, the only wild parrot species in Britain and a popular pet, may pose a particular threat due to their large numbers across the country.
Scientists have long been concerned about rising numbers of rose-ringed parakeets, which are largely concentrated in suburban areas, especially in gardens and parks in England’s leafy south-east.