Pig streptococcal disease: Very easily transmitted through humans

Pig streptococcal disease (streptococcus suis) is a contagious disease of blue ear disease in pigs. This disease is very dangerous because it can be transmitted through humans.

On July 19, despite the most stressful period, Mr. Vu Dinh Dau (61 years old, in Hung Yen) was still very tired, his legs were bruised, there were signs of severe skin and some toes. Mr. Dau has been suffering from pig streptococcus for over a month.

Mr. Dau told me in early June to buy some slices of pork and go home to eat, two days later he was in a coma. The family was taken to Hung Yen Hospital, then brought into the National Institute of Tropical Diseases and Infections in a very critical situation. In addition to Mr. Dau, there is also NTL with streptococcus pigs being treated at the hospital.

Spread directly from pigs to humans!

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien - Director of the National Institute of Tropical Diseases and Infections - said that since the beginning of 2007, there have been 22 patients suffering from streptococcus pigs treated in this hospital, two of them died.'This is a new disease identified in Vietnam since 2003, in the last few years only about ten patients have been admitted to our hospital. Since the beginning of 2007, the number of infected people has increased significantly. In the south, there are about 20 patients suffering from pig streptococcus, 'said Mr. Hien.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien, swine disease directly spreads from infected pigs to humans (through body scratches, through eating pig's pig's disease .). The disease is like many other diseases such as septicemia, dengue fever, meningitis . Most patients move to the hospital when they are in the 9-10 days after getting sick, the disease has become very severe.

Mr. Vu Dinh Dau still had to be treated at the National Institute of Tropical Diseases and Infections.For each patient with severe pig streptococcus infection, the cost of treatment is up to VND 22 million.(Photo: TTO)

According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Grant (National Institute of Tropical Diseases and Infections), 40% of patients infected with streptococcal streptococcus have recently suffered from multiple organ failure. At this institute, the rate of death of streptococcus patients was low, but in China there was a series of 75 hospitalized patients, 75% died. The ability to cure this disease depends much on the time of going to the hospital sooner or later.

Difficult to recognize pigs infected with streptococcus

On the afternoon of July 19, Dr. To Long Thanh - Deputy Director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine Diagnosis (Department of Animal Health - MARD) - said that it is difficult to recognize pigs infected with streptococcus. To determine if pigs have streptococcal infection, they can only be done in the laboratory with complex microbiological diagnosis.

Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Head of the Department of Virus, Veterinary Institute - said that pigs with PRRS are no different from people infected with HIV, viruses that cause PRRS to ' hit ' directly into ' macrophages ' cells , making it impossible for animals. against diseases. Particularly dangerous is when pigs have streptococcal disease, it is possible to spread to humans through food, even through the respiratory tract. When a person is infected with this disease, the body becomes very pale, high fever, even ignorance. The appearance of patients infected with pig streptococcus mainly in localities where blue ear disease has occurred in pigs.

Veterinary experts affirmed that blue ear disease as well as streptococcus pigs have no treatment regimen, no special antibiotics. To avoid eating sick pork, veterinary experts recommend that if people see unusual color of meat, hemorrhage or edema, they should not buy, should not eat. As a precaution, cook pork dishes.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien, due to the spread of diseases from pigs to people, it is necessary to comply with protection measures when processing, slaughtering and raising animals. Mr. Hien said that the majority of people suffering from pigs in the past have been working as livestock, slaughtering and selling pork. Among them was a 17-year-old student who only sold her mother's products two days during the summer holidays.

LAN ANH - DUC BINH