Medellin pediatricians discovered an outbreak of the Mycoplasma
pneumoniae bacteria that can be as lethal as the AH1N1 influenza, Caracol Radio
reported Friday.
The infection is a respiratory disease that turned into an epidemic in the last two months mainly affecting babies and children.
According to the pediatrician Sergio Andres Laasch Arbelaez, teenagers and adults are not immune to the infections and warned the community about the serious effects the bacteria infection can have on health.
The symptoms are coughing more than four days without any improvement accompanied by fever. The infection can easily be mistaken as an asthmatic or a normal flu.
The pediatrician recommended to isolate small children who show the symptoms and to bring them to hospital for blood tests.
The bacterium is spread by respiratory secretions. Therefore hygienic measurements should be intensified, Laasch Arbelaez said.
