After COVID-19, China is now fighting Brucellosis, thousands infected

Beijing: Even as China continues to battle COVID-19, another disease called Brucellosis is said to have infected over 6000 people in North-western China.

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease with flu-like symptoms. The disease's most common carriers are sheep, cattle and pigs. However, Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province was affected due to a leak at a vaccine plant, said Lanzhou's health commission. Affected people are still undergoing treatment although the outbreak happened a year ago.

A law has been passed by China's top legislative body to strengthen biosecurity protocols to prevent and control future risks.

The latest outbreak in Lanzhou was first discovered in November 2019 when at least 181 students tested positive for brucellosis at The Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute.

State media reports say that the outbreak further spread to Heilongjiang province of North-eastern province of China, where 13 people working at the veterinary institute were infected.

The origin of the outbreak is a biopharmaceutical factory owned by Shanghai-listed China Animal Husbandry Industry Co. The government has tested 55,725 people in the city, of which 6,620 are positive for brucellosis, reports said on Thursday.

The factory is accused of using expired disinfectants in July to August 2019 to produce brucellosis vaccine, leaving the bacteria in its waste gas. This contaminated gas later formed aerosols that drifted down to the veterinary institute.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease or a disease found in animals which can spread to humans. Its cause is a bacteria that affects sheep, goats, cattle, swine and even dogs.

Last year, China reported over 10 million cases of other infectious diseases such as scarlet fever, dysentery and dengue.

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