Another outbreak in China has sparked a wave of concern among authorities after thousands of people in the northern part of the country tested positive for a bacterial infection. The infection spread among people who work at a state-owned biopharmaceutical plant in Lanzhou city that produces vaccines for animals after a leak occurred last year.
Here is everything you need to know about the brucellosis outbreak:
* According to Chinese authorities, the biopharmaceutical plant had used expired disinfectants to produce Brucella vaccines for animals between July and August last year. This indicated that the bacteria was not eradicated in the factory exhaust.
* Later, the contaminated gas from the factory formed aerosols containing the bacteria, which were then carried by the wind to a nearby Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute. This resulted in the infection of about 200 people there also in December of last year.
* There are 3,245 people who have contracted brucellosis, according to health officials in Lanzhou. Another 1,401 people also tested positive for the disease early, the AFP news agency reported. The total positive cases also included 20 students and professors from Lanzhou University, some of whom had been at the institute.
* Brucellosis, caused by the brucella bacteria, is often caused by close contact with infected animals or animal products that can cause fever, joint pain, and headaches.
* Health authorities have said that so far there has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission of brucellosis. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that person-to-person transmission of brucellosis is “extremely rare,” but some symptoms may return or never go away.
* This outbreak of infection, like others such as the coronavirus, has also had its origin in animals. Sheep, cattle and pigs were the most commonly involved in spreading the bacteria, the Lanzhou health commission said.
* In this infection, some symptoms such as recurring fevers, chronic fatigue, swelling of the heart, or arthritis are expected to never go away and reoccur in patients who tested positive, according to the US CDC.
* Brucellosis is also known as Malt fever or Mediterranean fever and can cause symptoms including headaches, muscle aches, fever, and fatigue.
.
