The death toll for the infection caused by streptococcus suis type 2 raises to 36.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The outbreak of the pig-borne disease in the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan claimed two more lives, taking the death toll to 36. Seventeen new cases were reported, according to the Sichuan Health Bureau. A total of 198 people have been affected in 30 counties.

In Beijing, more than 4,000 tonnes of pork products from Sichuan had been seized. In Guangzhou, police yesterday seized 38 tonnes of frozen pork products at the railway station. Police said the products would go through quarantine before any further action was decided. The meat products were sent from the Sichuan Sihai Group in Ziyang on July 24. Ji Changming, office director of the Sihai Group, said the company had not sold any meat products to Guangzhou or Hong Kong since the outbreak of the disease. The Sichuan government also stepped up inspections to stop sick pigs from being sold at market. Officers would inspect 471 markets in Ziyang county.

Li Mingyuan, from Sichuan University's Microbiology Department, said the outbreak could be caused by a mutated bacteria as the antibiotics recommended by the medical authority were too strong for Streptococcus suis. He said that there were outbreaks caused by the same kind of bacterium before, but none of them were of this scale. The bacteria could have been mutated to a more resistant strain.

• CHINA
• VIRUS
• PIG
• DISEAESE
• INFECTION
• EPIDEMY
• Streptococcus
• suis