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Overnight Chinese media has been filled with reports of a large outbreak of Brucellosis at a Veterinary Research Institute located in Lanzhou, Gansu Province.
Early reports suggested at least 65 people had tested positive, while more recent reports put that number closer to 100. It isn't clear how many are symptomatic, as some are described as `latent' infections.Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of livestock that can also infect humans. While rarely fatal, it can cause serious and prolonged illness, with symptoms that may may include recurrent fevers, endocarditis, and neurological symptoms.
According to the CDC, person-to-person transmission is very rare, and most infections occur through three routes.
- Eating undercooked meat or consuming unpasteurized/raw dairy products
- Breathing in the bacteria that cause brucellosis (inhalation)
- Bacteria entering the body through skin wounds or mucous membranes
- slaughterhouse workers
- meat-packing employees
- veterinarians
- laboratory workers
Three strains of Brucella (Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis & Brucella suis) have been listed as Select Agents - pathogens that have been deemed to pose a significant biological hazard - and could potentially be used as bioterrorism agents (against both humans and livestock).
A search of Chinese Language media this morning for `染布魯氏菌病' (aka Brucellosis') returns numerous reports on this incident, including this from state run Xinhua.
Brucellosis cases confirmed in NW China
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-07 02:08:58|Editor: yan
LANZHOU, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-five people in a veterinary research institute in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, have been diagnosed with brucellosis, local health authority said Friday night.
Four suspected cases of brucellosis, all from the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, were reported by the First Hospital of Lanzhou University on Monday, the city's health commission said.
As of Friday noon, 263 people at the institute had been tested, of which 65, mainly laboratory staff, were confirmed antibody-positive.
The patients have been under medical observation and will be given standard treatment if necessary, the commission said.
The local department of agriculture is investigating the source of the disease and carrying out monitoring work.
Brucellosis, also known as the Mediterranean fever, is an infectious bacterial disease of human beings caused by brucella, transmitted by contact with infected livestock including cattle and sheep. It is characterized by fever, malaise and headaches.
The local health commission said the risk of human-to-human transmission of brucella is minimal.
A more recent report from CGTN (China Global Television Network) puts the number of positive cases to 96, and reiterates that the source of the outbreak is still under investigation.
96 confirmed cases of brucellosis in NW China
As of Saturday noon, 96 people in a veterinary research institute in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, were confirmed with brucellosis antibody-positive, local health authority said.
The authority said that 317 people at the institute had been tested, of which 96 were confirmed antibody-positive without obvious symptoms.
The patients have been under medical observation and will be given standard treatment, if necessary.
The local department of agriculture is investigating the source of the disease and carrying out monitoring work.
(Continue . . . )
Most years, only about 100 sporadic Brucellosis cases are reported in the United States, although larger outbreaks are not unheard of. In 1992, 18 people were infected at pork processing plant in North Carolina, and in 2006 scores of lab workers - working in two different states (Indiana & Minnesota) - were exposed, but only 2 were confirmed infected.
Hopefully additional details as to the type, route of exposure, and extent of this outbreak will become available in the days ahead.
