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Published Date 03-AUG-2005 Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Streptococcus suis, porcine, human - China (04) STREPTOCOCCUS SUIS, PORCINE, HUMAN - CHINA (04) *********************************************** A ProMED-mail post <http://www.promedmail.org> ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org> Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene <http://intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/trst> Date: Wed 3 Aug 2005 From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org> Source: People's Daily Online [edited] <http://english.people.com.cn/200508/03/eng20050803_199959.html> One new death of pig-borne endemic reported in Sichuan ----------------------------------------------- The death toll of the pig-borne endemic in southwest China's Sichuan Province had reached 37 as of Tue 2 Aug 2005, with one new death reported, according to the Chinese Ministry of Health. Although no new cases were reported, 8 retrospective cases were found. Among them, 5 were confirmed and 3 suspected, said the ministry in a latest report. The province has so far reported 205 cases of swine _Streptococcus suis_ type 2, with 159 confirmed and 46 suspected. 18 people have been discharged from the hospital, and 29 others are in critical condition. The endemic broke out late in June 2005 and has now been pinpointed in 10 cities, including Ziyang, Jianyang, Neijiang and the provincial capital Chengdu. All the patients had direct contact with ill or dead pigs.>snip<
Diagnosis of _S. suis_ infection in both pigs and humans is based upon culture of the organism from normally sterile sites and should not be difficult. Clinical details from the current outbreak (both from the pigs and the humans) are thus far lacking and it is therefore difficult to assess whether some co-infection (or other co-morbidity) may be accounting for this unprecedented cluster of human disease. - Mod.LM