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Three weeks ago, in China: Outbreak Of Brucellosis Reported At Veterinary Research Institute - Gansu Province, we saw the first of two high profile (and epidemiologically linked) Brucellosis outbreaks, involving upwards of 100 people.
The second outbreak, reported 3 days later, came from more than 1300 miles to the Northeast, this time in at the Harbin Veterinary Research facility (see China: Second Outbreak Of Brucellosis Reported (Harbin Veterinary Research).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.
All of which makes finding the source of these outbreaks of great importance, particularly since the number of exposed individuals has continued to grow.
The Health Commision of Gansu Province has recently published a preliminary report that blames a biopharmaceutical company which was producing a Brucellosis vaccine - and sits in close proximity to the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute - for a prolonged, unintentional release of the bacteria into the environment, apparently due to the use of expired disinfectants.
I've translated and posted some excerpts from a much longer report below.
Report on Investigation and Disposal of Brucella Antibody Positive Event in Lanzhou Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Release time: 2019-12-26 22:00:00 source: office visits: 76615
First, the event summary
On November 28, 2019, two students from the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute) technical team for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease detected Brucella antibodies. On November 29, the number of Brucella antibody-positive members in the team increased to four. Subsequently, the students of the team collectively tested for Brucella antibodies, and successively detected antibody-positive personnel, which led to the worry of all the students studying there. Students go to the hospital or CDC for Brucella antibody testing.
As of 16:00 on December 25, a total of 671 preliminary screening tests for serum Brucella antibodies in students and staff of Lanzhou Institute of Veterinary Research had been conducted, and a total of 181 cases of positive antibodies had been confirmed by laboratory review tests. Except for one antibody-positive person who had clinical symptoms, the rest were asymptomatic and disease-free.
(SNIP)
The investigation team mainly composed of national, provincial and municipal experts implemented the biological safety management system of Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute and the adjacent Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory, the operation and maintenance of facilities and equipment, and the bacterial toxin species, and the collection, use, and preservation of experimental samples A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the research and production of Brucella, research and production of Brucella. The laboratory building of Lanzhou Institute of Veterinary Medicine, laboratory animals, staff canteens, serum specimens retained during postgraduate admission since 2016, and the surrounding areas of Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory The environment and relevant personnel conducted sampling tests.
Synthesizing the results of investigations and surveys in various aspects, the expert group believes that: from July 24 to August 20, 2019, Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory used expired disinfectants during the production of Brucella vaccine for veterinary use, resulting in exhaust emissions from the production of fermentation tanks. The sterilization is not complete, and the exhaust gas carrying the bacterial fermentation broth forms a bacterial aerosol.
During the production period, the main wind direction in the area is southeast wind. Positive, causing a Brucella antibody positive event at Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute. The incident was an accidental incident, an exposure that occurred in a short period of time.
The production plant of Brucella vaccine in China Mulan Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory that caused the incident has ceased production on December 7, 2019.
Since December, Lanzhou University students and faculty members have successively detected antibody positives. At present, a total of 3365 people have been tested. 22 positive Brucella antibodies have been detected with a positive rate of 0.65%. After an epidemiological investigation, 6 of them had In July of this year, he had all activities in Lanzhou Zoological Research Institute, and the remaining positive people were in line with the epidemic trend of brucellosis in Chengguan District of Lanzhou City.
(Continue . . . .)
The report describes Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory as :
. . . one of the earliest established veterinary vaccine production plants in China. It is a designated manufacturer of compulsory immunized animal disease vaccines issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The Production License is valid. 22 veterinary drug approval numbers issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs have been obtained, including 2 live brucellosis vaccines, S2 and A19 strains, respectively.
Since 2016, all batches of live brucellosis vaccines produced by Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory have been approved. In 2019, 5 batches of live brucellosis vaccines were randomly selected for quality inspection.
While this appears to answer the question of how nearly 200 people were exposed to Brucellosis (and potentially others, not yet tested in the area), it doesn't explain why a licensed vaccine manufacturer would use expired disinfectants for months, and be unaware they were contaminating their neighbors with a potentially deadly biological agent.
Stay tuned, as there may be additional fallout from this incident in the weeks to come.
