A lady in Guangzhou suddenly had a fever
The body temperature reaches 39 degrees Celsius or higher
At first I thought it was a cold
Unexpectedly, the disease progressed violently
Multi-organ failure is also present
差点要了命
What's going on?
You won't be able to think of the real cause
Let's take a look↓↓↓
01
A little "cold", and almost died?
Recently, Ms. Du (pseudonym) from Guangzhou walked away at the ghost gate. I don't know why, I suddenly had a high fever, which did not subside for 3 consecutive days, and my body temperature was above 39 degrees Celsius, and I also had symptoms such as cough, dizziness, and weakness in my limbs.
At first, Ms. Du thought it was just a small "cold", so she took some symptomatic drugs by herself. However, the symptoms did not improve after taking the medicine, and the fever still recurred. Uneasy, she then came to Panyu Central Hospital affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University for treatment. The results of chest x-ray showed "infection in both lungs", and he was admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases for hospitalization with "pneumonia".
On the second day of admission, Ms. Du's condition deteriorated rapidly, with symptoms such as sweating, irritability, and shortness of breath, and her blood oxygen saturation, which should have been above 95%, dropped to 80%. After the medical team's assessment, Ms. Du was immediately transferred to the intensive care unit for further treatment.
However, Ms. Du's condition continued to deteriorate, and she developed shock, multiple organ failure, and was in critical condition. The medical team decided to start VV-ECMO supportive care immediately, and quickly placed the catheter and put it on the machine, and then Ms. Du's systemic oxygen supply improved and her vital signs tended to be stable.
Rare! Chlamydia abortus infection was finally confirmed
In the short term, high fever appeared, lung CT inflammation was mainly consolidation, and the disease progressed violently, and multi-organ failure occurred...... Which pathogen is the "murderer"? How to find out the "murderer"? Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) testing showed that Ms. Du's alveolar lavage fluid and blood test results showed "Chlamydia abortus" infection.
The rare result came as a surprise. The medical team immediately adjusted the anti-infection regimen according to the characteristics of Chlamydia abortus and strengthened organ function supportive treatment. After 7 days of treatment, Ms. Du's condition gradually improved, she was successfully weaned off the ventilator, removed the tracheal intubation, and was soon transferred to the general ward for further treatment.
03
What is Chlamydia abortus? How can it be prevented?
"Chlamydia abortis" is a gram-negative intracellular parasitic prokaryotic microorganism, belonging to the chlamydia family, chlamydia genus, the main host is sheep, cattle, pigs, etc., infected livestock will have abortion in the late pregnancy.
Studies have shown that Chlamydia abortus can be transmitted through the respiratory tract or direct contact to infect humans, causing atypical pneumonia and miscarriage in pregnant women. Human-animal infection can occur if humans inhale through the respiratory tract or come into close contact with sick cattle and sheep. Human-to-human transmission is relatively rare. It is likely that Ms. Du was infected when she came into contact with slaughtered cows, sheep and pigs in the kitchen.
According to Dr. Jin Jinju from the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at Panyu Central Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University, aborted chlamydia is generally thought to cause miscarriage, stillbirth and gestational sepsis in human pregnant women, but rarely causes pneumonia in humans.
He emphasized that for aborted chlamydia infection, the main focus is prevention, and it is necessary to enhance immunity and pay attention to personal hygiene.
04
Why are there so many kinds of chlamydia? What to look out for?
Although it is relatively rare for Chlamydia abortus to infect humans, Chlamydia is an important zoonotic pathogen with 12 species in the genus Chlamydia, including Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia psittaci, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Chlamydia ratus, Chlamydia swine pigs, Chlamydia feline, Chlamydia abortus, Chlamydia guinea pigs, Chlamydia mammarians, Chlamydia avians, Chlamydia poultry, Chlamydia topsis, and Chlamydia tocidos.
Among so many kinds of chlamydia, the main ones associated with human infection are Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Chlamydia psittaci. After the human body is infected with chlamydia, although the body can produce specific cellular immunity and humoral immunity, this immunity is extremely weak, and it is easy to cause persistent infection and repeated infection.
Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae are mainly transmitted between humans through respiratory droplets, mother-to-child contact, and sexual contact, and can be prevalent in small areas in homes, schools, convoys, and other densely populated areas.
Chlamydia trachomatis can cause widespread infection in the human body, in addition to eye infections such as trachoma, it can also cause non-gonococcal urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease through sexual transmission, and occasionally lung infections in neonates and adults with immunodeficiency. Chlamydia trachomatis pneumonia goes untreated, and most cases resolve spontaneously after a few weeks.
Primary infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae is more common in school-age children, while adults are more likely to be reinfected or chronic. Lower respiratory tract infections, especially pneumonia. Infection in children and adolescents is usually mild, self-limited, and easily overlooked, resulting in prolonged illness and chronic cough. Pneumonia is more severe in adults, especially in older people with pre-existing chronic conditions or repeated infections.
Chlamydia psittaci can be transmitted to humans through contact and inhalation through the tissues, blood and feces of birds, such as parrots, peacocks, chickens, ducks, pigeons, etc. Pneumonia caused by Chlamydia psittaci infection, commonly known as "psittacosis", is common in adults and less common in children. It mainly affects the lungs, but it can also affect other organ systems, including the liver, spleen, and brain. The onset is mostly insidious, and severe patients can develop acutely, with an incubation period of 5~14 days. The severity of psittacosis can range from mild flu-like symptoms to severe life-threatening pneumonia.
05
Don't be careless when in contact with animals, there is a risk of disease!
Similar to Chlamydia abortus infection, there is a risk of Chlamydia psittaci infection from contact with animals.
At the beginning of this year, a couple in Shaoxing slaughtered live ducks at home to prepare for making sauce ducks, but the sauce ducks were not ready, and the couple both fell ill. The two had symptoms of chills and fever, accompanied by cough and white sputum, and chest tightness and shortness of breath after activity. After detailed questioning, the doctor learned that the patient had been scratched by a duck when slaughtering a live duck, which made the doctor alert whether it was a zoonotic disease.
Coincidentally, there was a big sister Geng who watched a vendor slaughter ducks and stayed around for a short time, and then she was infected with Chlamydia psittaci, and also had symptoms such as severe dry cough, high fever, and fatigue.
Not only poultry, kittens and other pets are also at risk of illness, some time ago there were media reports that a woman in Shanghai went to a pet store to "suck cats", and then she had symptoms such as high fever, sensitivity to cold, shivering, etc., and was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital. Upon examination, the woman was found to be infected with psittacosis.
Experts suggest that there are risks in raising pets, and you need to be cautious when "sucking cats". The disease is transmitted through the respiratory tract, directly through droplets or indirectly through excreta-contaminated dust, and is almost non-human-to-person.
For people who usually keep pets, pay attention to washing hands with running water and soap after touching animals, and clean up animal hair and feces in time.
For those who are often in contact with poultry, cattle and sheep and other animal workers, we should pay attention to environmental sanitation and do a good job of health protection measures, if there are symptoms such as repeated high fever, chills, chills, dyspnea, etc., and no other reasons can be found, we should go to the hospital in time, and take the initiative to inform the doctor of the relevant animal contact history, so as to take targeted treatment as soon as possible.
Compiled from: China News Network, Guangzhou Daily, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Health Times, Popular Science China, etc.