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Spokesman Says No Human Infection of Pig-Borne Bacteria in Chinese Capital

Posted on: Saturday, 30 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 30 July: No human infection of streptococosis II, a kind of pig-borne bacteria, or live pigs infected by the bacteria has been spotted in Beijing, a spokesman for the municipal food security office said.

An endemic caused by the pig-borne bacteria broke out in late June in cities and counties of southwest China's Sichuan Province, including Ziyang City, Jianyang City, Lezhi County and Zizhong County in Neijiang City.

All the patients, mostly poor peasant farmers who showed symptoms of poisoning, such fever, headache, or shock, even meningitis for serious cases, admitted having had direct contact with ill or dead pigs.

The endemic in Sichuan Province had killed 32 people as of 12 a.m. [0400 gmt] Friday [29 July], said information from the Chinese Ministry of Health.

The Beijing Municipal Party and Government authorities have attached great attention to the outbreak of the endemic in Sichuan and worked out a detailed plan regarding surveillance and prevention, said the spokesman.

Departments of health, agriculture, commerce, industrial and commercial administration, and quality inspection have effective measures to curb spreading of the pig-borne disease into the national capital.

The measures include a halt in buying live pigs or related products from areas already reported with the pig-borne disease, intensified inspection over breeding, slaughter, processing and marketing of livestock and poultry, thorough disinfecting of grounds for cultivation, marketplaces for trading of live pigs, places for slaughter and processing, careful treatment of pig dropping.

While reassuring that all pork and other animal products for sale on the market in Beijing are strictly inspected and are safe to consume, the spokesman recommend consumers to buy pork and other meat products at standardized markets in the city.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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