[ad_1]
After a leak at the Zhongmu Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory, thousands of residents in Northwest China’s Lanzhou City contracted the Brucella bacteria. The factory used expired disinfectants in the production of Brucella vaccines, reports CNN. Therefore, not all bacteria can be destroyed. These were released into the air through factory exhaust gases last summer and were dispersed by the wind.
According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, 181 people were infected with the bacteria in late December. According to the Lanzhou Health Department, 3,245 people suffer from brucellosis, reports CNN. Another 1401 people have tested positive for the time being. In all, authorities examined 21,847 people of the city’s 2.9 million residents.
Generally, there is no person-to-person transmission.
Normally, person-to-person transmission is not possible, writes the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) on its website. The infection usually occurs by direct contact with infected animals or by eating contaminated food. The latter appears to be the case for Lanzhou.
According to the BAG, 90 percent of the infection develops without symptoms. “Otherwise, flu-like symptoms appear between five and 60 days after infection. After a short period of absence of symptoms, a fever that rises rapidly up to 40 degrees Celsius, combined with chills and swelling of the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. The disease can heal spontaneously or lead to a chronic course.
In the months after the outbreak, provincial and municipal officials opened an investigation into the leak at the factory, according to the Lanzhou Health Commission. In January, authorities had revoked the plant’s vaccine production licenses and removed the product approval numbers for its two brucellosis vaccines. In February, the factory publicly apologized.
Brucellosis is rare in Switzerland
Brucellosis was much more common in China in the 1980s. Since then, with the advent of animal vaccines and better prevention, it has been kept under control. However, there are isolated outbreaks around the world.
According to the FOPH, the disease rarely occurs in Switzerland. Six people have had brucellosis since the beginning of the year. There were four illnesses last year. (szm)
