Health Conditions / Respiratory Disease / Pneumonia

An unknown type of bilateral pneumonia has caused nine illnesses, three hospitalizations, and three deaths in Argentina, according to a statement this week from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak includes one patient and eight healthcare workers, per the statement, and all cases are related to the same health care center.The illnesses have all occurred at a private health clinic in the Tucumán province, in northern Argentina, and officials don’t yet know the cause of the illness (which you may have seen referred to as the etiological identification). According to the statement, samples have been tested for respiratory viruses (including COVID-19) as well as viral, bacterial, and fungal infections —more than 26 different possible causes in all, according to reporting from Insider—but all have come back negative, the statement said.The symptoms reported so far include fever, abdominal pain, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing. The illness is causing bilateral pneumonia, meaning the inflammation is present in both lungs.One of the nine people who has gotten sick with the illness has been discharged from the hospital and is isloating at home and in stable condition. The PAHO statement says that the three people who died from the illness had other health conditions (called comorbidities), though it didn’t mention what the specific comorbidities were.Right now, officials say they are submitting the samples they’ve collected for toxicological analysis at the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes, per the statement. They are also conducting contact tracing to identify other people who may have been exposed. As of September 1, no close contacts of the three fatalities had developed symptoms of the illness, per the statement. The PAHO and WHO are continuing to investigate the outbreak with the Argentinian health authorities.If reading about a new unknown illness is anxiety-provoking for you, you’re not alone. The COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention the ongoing monkeypox outbreak as well as the first reported case of polio in the US in nearly a decade, has shaped the way we view news like this. But context is key, and it’s important to keep in mind that not every new illness turns into a pandemic. In other words, until we know more, there’s no need to panic.Related:

Nikki Bella, WWE star, just shared some updates on her fiancé Artem Chigvintsev’s health. Nearly one month has elapsed since Chigvintsev had to exit the “Dancing With the Stars: Live!” tour because of pneumonia. “He still has pneumonia. Monday or Tuesday we’ll get [another] update,” Bella told Entertainment Tonight from the red carpet at the Fanatics Super Bowl party on Saturday. “He gets his lungs rescanned and we’ll find out if they’re better. The swelling’s gone down so, fingers crossed. We’re praying really hard that we get good news.” Pneumonia is an infection in which the air sacs in one or both lungs become inflamed and fill with fluid or pus, causing fever, chills, fatigue, coughing, and breathing difficulties. On January 20, Chigvintsev announced on Instagram that he had been forced to drop out of the tour, which kicked off on January 7 in Virginia. “My goal is to recover as quickly as possible so I can rejoin my cast and crew on this incredible tour,” the 39-year-old dancer said in the post. On February 3, the Russian American shared an Instagram Stories post in which he said that further X-rays confirmed he was still facing pneumonia, but that he hoped his second course of antibiotics would “do the magic.”Not only has the lung infection affected his tour, but it’s also impacted his wedding plans. Bella said at the Fanatics Super Bowl party that while she was excited to get married in Paris in the coming months, Chigvintsev’s health needed to come first. Either way, when the big day does finally arrive, it’s sure to be a lively one. “I always go big,” Bella said of her upcoming nuptials. The couple, who first met on the 25th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2017, have an 18-month-old son, Matteo, together.While Chigvintsev had COVID-19 a few months ago, it’s not clear whether his pneumonia stemmed from the virus. In many other cases, pneumonia has been found to be a common complication of COVID-19. According to the Mayo Clinic, because the virus mainly attacks the lungs, it can lead to a range of mild to severe respiratory problems, including pneumonia. And Bella did, in fact, note that she’d realized something continued to be wrong with Chigvintsev’s health after he had COVID. “I could just tell there was something wrong, and something more [serious], so I was like, ‘He needs to see a doctor!’” she said. “I was the one who was like, ‘We need to get him to a doctor.’ So it’s been scary for a while.”As Chigvintsev has been facing pneumonia for quite some time, you might be wondering, how long do pneumonia symptoms last? According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, it can vary widely. For some individuals, it’s possible to feel recovered after a week or two. For others, it can take longer than a month. However, overall, many people recovering from pneumonia continue to feel fatigued for about a month or so. How early they start a course of antibiotics is a factor. If you’re dealing with pneumonia, it’s always important to finish the full course of antibiotics, even if you begin to feel better. If you’re not experiencing significant improvement according to the timeline provided by your health care provider, the best course of action is to immediately contact a doctor. During recovery, it’s important to increase fluid intake, refrain from smoking, and take plenty of time to rest and to sleep if possible.Related: