Thousands of people have tested positive for infectious bacterial disease in northwest China after a gas leak from a vaccine lab.
According to health officials in Lanzhou, 3,245 people tested positive for brucellosis, a disease often caused by contact with infected animal products or animals, the Daily Mail reported.
Symptoms of the disease include headaches, fevers, and joint pain.
After the authorities screened almost 22,000 residents, another 1,401 have tested positive for the bacterial disease.
Officials said no death has been reported and there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission.
Also known as Mediterranean fever or Malta fever, Brucellosis can cause symptoms including fatigue, muscle pain, fever, and headaches.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some symptoms of brucellosis may persist for extended periods of time while others may reoccur or never disappear.
The CDC said that person-to-person transmission of the disease is ‘extremely rare.’
Authorities in China found a biopharmaceutical plant had used expired disinfectant in producing Brucella vaccines for animals from July to August 2019. This means the bacteria was not removed in the factory exhaust.
Contaminated gas from the factory then formed aerosols with the bacteria and it was carried by wind to the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, where almost 200 people contracted the infection.
Xinhua news agency reported that more than 20 faculty members and students of Lanzhou University also tested positive.
Sheep, pigs, and cattle were most involved in the spread of the disease, said Lanzhou’s health commission.
According to authorities, the factory has had its brucellosis vaccine production license revoked. 11 public hospitals provide the infected patients with free and regular treatments.
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