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More than 3,000 people in northern China have been diagnosed with a bacterial infection after an outbreak caused by a leak at a biopharmaceutical company last year.
Nearly 22,000 people in Lanzhou City, capital of Gansu Province, were tested and 3,245 tested positive for brucellosis, the Lanzhou National Health Commission (NHC) said.
The infection is a highly contagious zoonosis, which according to the NHS website is caused by drinking unpasteurized milk or dairy products, or by contact with bodily fluids from farm animals, such as cows, goats, sheep, and pigs.
Brucellosis can be transmitted to humans from infected cattle, such as cows.
Symptoms include high fever, loss of appetite, sweating, headaches, extreme tiredness, and back and joint pain.
In a statement, the NHC said brucellosis was detected in November 2019, following a leak “caused by a contaminated leak from a vaccine factory in Lanzhou, due to the use of expired disinfectant from late July to mid-August of the year. past”.
Staff at the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, an institution of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences near the factory, were infected, according to a report released by the Gansu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in late December.
The NHC says that in response, 11 public hospitals in the city offered “free exams and treatments.”
He added that the local government also organized experts in medical psychology to give lectures on the infection and “reduce people’s anxiety.”
The factory’s license to produce the brucella vaccine was revoked and its production department closed.
The commission says that anyone diagnosed will start receiving compensation in October.
Brucellosis is caused by drinking unpasteurized milk or dairy products, or by contact with the body fluids of farm animals. Stock Image
It occurs when Chinese scientists work on a vaccine to COVID-19 – which originated in the city of Wuhan – recently told Sky News that they are “99%” sure it will be effective.
Sinovac, a Beijing-based biotech company, currently has its vaccine in stage 2 trials, involving more than 1,000 volunteers.
The company also said that it is in preliminary talks to conduct stage 3 testing, the final part of the testing process, in the UK.
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China has more than 90,000 cases of coronavirus, and 4,736 people have died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the virus.
A Chinese health official said this week that the country could have a vaccine ready for public use in November.
About 200 candidates globally are involved in the race to develop and bring to market a vaccine against the virus, and President Donald Trump says the United States may have a list for distribution before the Nov.3 election.
