Two cases of severe pneumonia after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake
Toshihide Nakadate1, Yutaka Nakamura, Kohei Yamauchii
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Uchimar 19-1, Morioka, Iwate, Japan .
Abstract:
In 2011, during the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, 90% of victims died from drowning. We report on two tsunami survivors with severe pneumonia potentially caused by Legionella pneumophila. Both victims aspirated a large quantity of contaminated water; sand, mud and a variety of microbes were thought to have entered into their lower respiratory tracts. One patient had a mycotic intracranial aneurysm; the other patient had co-infections with several organisms, including Scedosporium species. Although scedosporiosis is a relatively rare infectious disease, symptoms are progressive and prognosis is poor. These pathogens are not specific for tsunami lung, but are reported causative agents for pneumonia after near-drowning.
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