Bacterium that infects pigs kills 19 farmworkers
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) Animal health officials yesterday identified and isolated the bacterium responsible for the deaths of 19 farm workers in Ziyang and Neijiang in the south-eastern province of Sichuan. Contrary to speculation, it is not the bird flu virus, but the streptococcus suis type 2, a type of bacteria found in the tonsils of pigs which rarely infects humans but which can cause deafness, meningitis and septicaemiaor blood poisoning.
An official from the local Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau said all the people taken ill had come into direct contact with infected pig carcasses. All the other affected animals were culled and buried.
Another 17 people of the 67 confirmed cases were critically ill and 13 are suspected of being infected. But so far the possibility of human-to-human infection has been ruled out.
Bob Dietz, spokesman for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Manila, said the UN agency was satisfied with the central government's response to the outbreak and was confident China had the ability to identify and contain the disease.
Beijing notified the WHO of the outbreak last Friday evening, the same time other government departments and the Hong Kong government were notified. But the WHO had not been told of the Sichuan veterinarians' conclusions about the cause of the outbreak.
"We will continue to watch with concern," Mr Dietz said, adding that WHO had no plans for an independent investigation of the affected area.
A farmer in Ziyang, where most of the cases occurred, said a case was reported in his village, Puguang, as early as May. He said the symptoms were different from ordinary pig plague, although he could not name the disease. "When the pig died, the skin turned black and swollen," he said.
Meanwhile, the Sihai Group, a major pork exporter in Ziyang, posted a statement on its website saying no cases had been reported on the farms associated with the group. The statement said there were no major changes to the group's sales and procurement practices.
However, exports to Hong Kong were suspended. The territory gets 30,000 tonnes of its 200,000 tonnes of frozen pork annually from Sichuan.
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02/08/2005
