A recent published study published on Feb. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed a probable person-to-person transmission of Legionnaires' Disease, a potential deadly respiratory disease all the while thought to develop only when people breathe in contaminated mist or water droplets, vapour or soil. However, a case that occurred in the fall of 2014 in Portugal suggests that the infection may, in rare cases, pass person-to-person.
今年新英格兰医学杂志2月4日发表的一项最新研究显示退伍军人症可能在人与人之间传播。一直以来,人们相信这一潜在致命的呼吸系统疾病只有在当人们吸入受污染雾水滴,水气或土壤才会发病。然而,2014年在葡萄牙秋季的一个案例表明,在极少数情况下军团症感染可能人传人。
According to a team led by Dr. Ana Correia, of the Northern Regional Health Administration in Porto, a 48-year-old male maintenance worker contracted an infection with the legionellae after working at a contaminated cooling tower complex near Lisbon. He returned to the home he shared with his mother in Porto, nearly 190 miles away, and began to show signs of illness about three days later. His 74-year-old mother cared him-- who was later transferred to a hospital -- and about two weeks later, she too became ill. Laboratory testing confirmed that the mother's illness was caused by the same strain of legionellae that had infected her son. Both the mother and son succumbed to the disease. Since mother and son had the identical strain, and the mother never visited the infected site near Lisbon, "person-to-person transmission of [Legionnaires'] was the most plausible explanation" for how the woman in the case became sick.
据葡萄牙波尔图北区健康管理局由安娜·科雷亚博士领导的小组报道,一名48岁的男性维修工人在里斯本附近受污染的冷却塔工作后,受到军团菌感染。他回到了190英里外的波尔图的家中,约三天后,出现疾病的症状。和他同住的74岁的老母亲照顾他 ,大约两个星期后,她也病倒了,并被转移到一家医院。实验室检测证实,母亲受感染的病菌和她的儿子身体的军团菌是同一个菌属。母亲和儿子之后都死于这种疾病。由于母亲和儿子有相同的应变,而母亲从未到过里斯本附近受污染的地区,“[军团菌]人与人之间的传播是最合理的解释”。
Experts in the realm of Legionella control believed that the circumstances are unique (the long and sustained closeness between mother and son as she cared for him at home without personal protective equipment) and don’t require to change the present infection control measures and urged caution in interpreting the findings. " While this case report sheds new light on a potential concern for person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease, it's important to realize that the primary mode of transmission continues to be via inhalation of infected aerosols from cooling towers associated with large-scale air conditioning and ventilation units," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where 124 people were sickened and 12 people died in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease related to contaminated cooling towers at a hotel in South Bronx. Glatter stressed this case is likely very rare, and should not raise alarm bells. Instead, he said, "what is apparent to me is the importance of conducting future high-quality epidemiologic studies to better understand and determine actual and reported risks of person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease".
军团菌控制专家敦促公众谨慎看待此案例,他们认为这种特殊情况下(母亲在家里没有个人防护设备近距离持续地照顾生病的儿子)发生的案例,并不会改变目前的感染控制措施。 “虽然这份报告揭示了人对人之间传播的潜在风险,我们应认识到传播的主要方式还是通过吸入受感染的冷却塔的水雾“,纽约市Lenox Hill医院的罗伯特·格拉特博士说。纽约市南布朗克斯去年由受污染的酒店的冷却塔引发的军团病造成124人染病,其中12人死亡。格拉特强调,这种情况很可能非常罕见,应该不会引发恐慌。相反,他说,“在我看来显而易见的是未来进行高质量的流行病学研究,以更好地了解和确定实际和报告的退伍军人症的人传人的风险的重要性。”
今年新英格兰医学杂志2月4日发表的一项最新研究显示退伍军人症可能在人与人之间传播。一直以来,人们相信这一潜在致命的呼吸系统疾病只有在当人们吸入受污染雾水滴,水气或土壤才会发病。然而,2014年在葡萄牙秋季的一个案例表明,在极少数情况下军团症感染可能人传人。
According to a team led by Dr. Ana Correia, of the Northern Regional Health Administration in Porto, a 48-year-old male maintenance worker contracted an infection with the legionellae after working at a contaminated cooling tower complex near Lisbon. He returned to the home he shared with his mother in Porto, nearly 190 miles away, and began to show signs of illness about three days later. His 74-year-old mother cared him-- who was later transferred to a hospital -- and about two weeks later, she too became ill. Laboratory testing confirmed that the mother's illness was caused by the same strain of legionellae that had infected her son. Both the mother and son succumbed to the disease. Since mother and son had the identical strain, and the mother never visited the infected site near Lisbon, "person-to-person transmission of [Legionnaires'] was the most plausible explanation" for how the woman in the case became sick.
据葡萄牙波尔图北区健康管理局由安娜·科雷亚博士领导的小组报道,一名48岁的男性维修工人在里斯本附近受污染的冷却塔工作后,受到军团菌感染。他回到了190英里外的波尔图的家中,约三天后,出现疾病的症状。和他同住的74岁的老母亲照顾他 ,大约两个星期后,她也病倒了,并被转移到一家医院。实验室检测证实,母亲受感染的病菌和她的儿子身体的军团菌是同一个菌属。母亲和儿子之后都死于这种疾病。由于母亲和儿子有相同的应变,而母亲从未到过里斯本附近受污染的地区,“[军团菌]人与人之间的传播是最合理的解释”。
Experts in the realm of Legionella control believed that the circumstances are unique (the long and sustained closeness between mother and son as she cared for him at home without personal protective equipment) and don’t require to change the present infection control measures and urged caution in interpreting the findings. " While this case report sheds new light on a potential concern for person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease, it's important to realize that the primary mode of transmission continues to be via inhalation of infected aerosols from cooling towers associated with large-scale air conditioning and ventilation units," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where 124 people were sickened and 12 people died in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease related to contaminated cooling towers at a hotel in South Bronx. Glatter stressed this case is likely very rare, and should not raise alarm bells. Instead, he said, "what is apparent to me is the importance of conducting future high-quality epidemiologic studies to better understand and determine actual and reported risks of person-to-person transmission for Legionnaires' disease".
军团菌控制专家敦促公众谨慎看待此案例,他们认为这种特殊情况下(母亲在家里没有个人防护设备近距离持续地照顾生病的儿子)发生的案例,并不会改变目前的感染控制措施。 “虽然这份报告揭示了人对人之间传播的潜在风险,我们应认识到传播的主要方式还是通过吸入受感染的冷却塔的水雾“,纽约市Lenox Hill医院的罗伯特·格拉特博士说。纽约市南布朗克斯去年由受污染的酒店的冷却塔引发的军团病造成124人染病,其中12人死亡。格拉特强调,这种情况很可能非常罕见,应该不会引发恐慌。相反,他说,“在我看来显而易见的是未来进行高质量的流行病学研究,以更好地了解和确定实际和报告的退伍军人症的人传人的风险的重要性。”