After Corona, thousands being infected by brucellosis disease in China. Let’s know what led to this outbreak

BEIJING: Brucellosis, a bacterial disease with flu-like symptoms, has infected more than 6,000 people in a single outbreak in northwestern China. Usually caused by contact with animals, the outbreak in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, was due to a leak at a vaccine plant, according to Lanzhou’s health commission. People are still being treated at hospitals even though the outbreak happened a year ago. China’s top legislative body passed a law last month to establish protocols for biosecurity risk prevention and control, and systems to respond to risks including sudden outbreaks.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease or a disease in animals that can spread to humans. It is caused by bacteria that affect sheep, goats, cattle, swine, and even dogs and is reported in many countries. Humans generally get the disease from direct contact with infected animals through the consumption of tainted animal products such as unpasteurized milk or cheese, or through the inhalation of airborne agents. Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms in humans include fever and weakness, which emerge over a few weeks. The mortality rate is low, though complications could lead to death. Some symptoms such as joint pain may become chronic and never go away

The outbreak even spread to Heilongjiang province in the northeastern corner of China, where 13 people who worked at the veterinarian institute in August 2019 tested positive, state media reported. The government has tested 55,725 people in the city, of which 6,620 are positive for brucellosis as of now, the Lanzhou government said at a press conference. The outbreak originated at a biopharmaceutical factory owned by Shanghai-listed China Animal Husbandry Industry Co, according to a statement from Lanzhou’s health commission in September. The factory had used expired disinfectants from July to August 2019 to make brucellosis vaccines, leaving the bacteria in its waste gas. The contaminated gas later formed aerosols that drifted downwind to the veterinary institute.