Mysterious disease kills 31 in China's Sichuan province
{{date|July 28, 2005}}

Chinese officials have ceased the export of pork from two cities after at least 31 individuals died and 152 were taken ill after contracting a mysterious disease related to pigs. China leads the world in the production of pork products.

Symptoms of the illness include fatigue, headache, high fever, vomiting, and eventually coma. Subcutaneous bruising has also been observed in some patients.

Initial reports indicated that those becoming sick had recently butchered sick sheep or pigs. Lab tests in China have revealed that victims may be suffering an infection of ''[[w:Streptococcus suis|Streptococcus suis]]'' -- a bacteria found in many pork producing countries.

Serious cases of ''Streptococcus suis'' infection can lead to [[w:coma|coma]] and eventually [[w:meningitis|meningitis]]. Thus far, no human-to-human transmissions have been observed.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/159606/1/.html
|title=Death toll from mystery disease rises to 17 in China: report
|author=edwin
|pub=Channelnewsasia.com
|date=July 24, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/24/content_3261256.htm
|title=Death toll from unknown illness rises to 17 in Sichuan
|author=
|pub=Xinhuanet
|date=July 24, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-07-25T030622Z_01_PEK200335_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-HEALTH-CHINA-DC.XML
|title=Death toll from unknown illness rises to 17 in Sichuan
|author=
|pub=Reuters
|date=July 25, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aHyNIKeprKcE&refer=top_world_news
|title=China Halts Pork Exports From 2 Cities Amid Disease
|author=Sau Chan & Koh Chin Ling
|pub=Bloomberg
|date=July 25, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=awkk5YBN.4qY&refer=asia
|title=Southwest China Pig-Borne Illness Kills 31 People, Govt Says
|author=Jianguo Jiang
|pub=Bloomberg
|date=July 28, 2005}}

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[[Category:Health]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:China]]
Chinese officials have ceased the export of pork from two cities after at least 31 individuals died and 152 were taken ill after contracting a mysterious disease related to pigs. China leads the world in the production of pork products.

Symptoms of the illness include fatigue, headache, high fever, vomiting, and eventually coma. Subcutaneous bruising has also been observed in some patients.

Initial reports indicated that those becoming sick had recently butchered sick sheep or pigs. Lab tests in China have revealed that victims may be suffering an infection of Streptococcus suis -- a bacteria found in many pork producing countries.

Serious cases of Streptococcus suis infection can lead to coma and eventually meningitis. Thus far, no human-to-human transmissions have been observed.

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Health Asia China