What is Legionella causing the Cáceres outbreak?

The mayor of Cáceres, Rafael Mateos, confirmed that an 85-year-old man died from the Legionella outbreak in Cáceres. social networkX (previous tweet), and Reserved for six people In the town of San Pedro de Alcantara Hospital.

Dr. Julio García Rodríguez, spokesman for the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases, explained that authorities were investigating the source of the infection, which is more common in summer because it usually comes from refrigeration equipment, according to the Extremadura military government. Newtral.es and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).

What is Legionnaires’ disease and its symptoms

Legionnaires’ disease or “legionnaires’ disease” is caused by bacteria Legionella pneumophilaIt gets its name from a 1976 outbreak of pneumonia among people attending the 1976 American Legion Convention in Philadelphia, when the causative agent was identified, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its English acronym), the U.S. public health agency. However, Dr. Garcia said Legionella, like the one that caused the Cáceres outbreak, can cause two types of illness:

• Severe pneumonia, a condition known as Legionnaires’ disease, which can have a mortality rate of up to 80 percent if left untreated and the infected person is immunocompromised. Symptoms are mainly cough (what doctors designate as “dry cough”), shortness of breath, fever, muscle pain and headache, usually within 2 to 14 days of infection.
• pontiac feverMilder than Legionnaires’ disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its symptoms are similar to flu, mainly fever and muscle aches, appearing between hours and three days after infection and last about a week.

According to a SEIMC spokesperson, the target groups, or those most at risk of getting Legionnaires’ disease, are the elderly, smokers, people with chronic bronchitis or some type of lung disease, and alcohol drinkers.

How the Legionnaires’ Disease That Caused the Cáceres Outbreak Spreads

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease is most commonly spread by “inhalation of aerosols from contaminated water” by bacteria in water. Outbreaks like the one in Cáceres, as the doctor puts it, are “particularly in the summer” because of the more prevalent use of air conditioning and sprinkler systems, where there is a greater risk of Legionella growing and spreading. Additionally, the World Health Organization states that “to date, there have been no known cases of direct human-to-human transmission”.

However, despite the presence of bacteria in the water, No risk of infection when drinking, but inhaling it in an environment with “foggy” water, as a SEIMC spokesperson puts it. “Legionella is airborne and the problem is usually in aerosols,” said the mayor of Cáceres.

Some precautions have been taken there. Mateos said on August 29: “This morning, they confirmed to me that the analysis of the ornamental fountain was negative.” Public drinking fountains that tested positive have been cordoned off.

How many cases have been registered in the Legionella outbreak in Cáceres

In addition to one fatality, the Legionella outbreak in Cáceres has resulted in the admission of six people at San Pedro de Alcantara Hospital: four of them are in the ward, including an 85-year-old woman and three Men aged 76, 71 and 55, and two others are in a hospital ward. Two 65-year-old men were taken to intensive care, Extremadura’s junta said in a press release. They emphasized that as of August 30, “no new cases related to this infection have been reported”.

According to the latest epidemiological report on the Legionnaires’ disease situation in Spain in 2021, updated on February 20, 2023, Spain has “one of the highest incidence rates” for Legionnaires’ disease. Specifically, the No. 35 weekly epidemiological surveillance report issued by the Spanish National Epidemiological Center shows that, 1,050 cases of Legionnaires’ disease as of week 31 of the yearan increase of 45% over the same period last year.

When hospitals see higher-than-anticipated infections, they contact the appropriate public health authorities to initiate a proper investigation, said Dr. Garcia, who defined microbiologists as “the main sentinel for the first cases.”

Tips to reduce the risk of contagion during a Legionella outbreak

If a Legionella outbreak like the one in Cáceres is detected, the government sets up a determine the origin of the disease to kill bacteria. In addition, as Dr. Garcia puts it, “there is no greater risk than normal,” unless it is related to a specific location, must travel to that location, and has risk factors, and doctors recommend wearing masks at that time. “If that’s not the case, or if you’ve had contact and you don’t notice anything, calm down,” he stressed.