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Epidemic Hazard in China on September 17 2020 08:07 AM (UTC).
https://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/database/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=EH-20200917-71304-CHN(CNN)Several thousand people in northwest China have tested positive for a bacterial disease, authorities said on Tuesday, in an outbreak caused by a leak at a biopharmaceutical company last year. The Health Commission of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province, confirmed that 3,245 people had contracted the disease brucellosis, which is often caused by contact with livestock carrying the bacteria brucella. Another 1,401 people have tested as preliminarily positive, though there have been no fatalities reported, the city's Health Commission said. In total, authorities have tested 21,847 people out of the city's 2.9 million population. The disease, also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever, can cause symptoms including headaches, muscle pain, fever and fatigue. While these may subside, some symptoms can become chronic or never go away, like arthritis or swelling in certain organs, according to the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare, according to the CDC. Instead, most people are infected by eating contaminated food or breathing in the bacteria -- which seems to be the case in Lanzhou.
This outbreak stemmed from a leak at the Zhongmu Lanzhou biological pharmaceutical factory, which occurred between late July to late August last year, according to the city's Health Commission. While producing Brucella vaccines for animal use, the factory used expired disinfectants and sanitizers -- meaning not all bacteria were eradicated in the waste gas. This contaminated waste gas formed aerosols that contained the bacteria -- and leaked into the air, carried by wind down to the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, where the outbreak first hit. People at the institute began reporting infections in November, and it quickly accelerated. By the end of December, at least 181 people at the institute had been infected with brucellosis, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua. Other infected patients included students and faculty members of Lanzhou University; the outbreak even spread to Heilongjiang province, at the very northeastern tip of the country, where 13 positive cases had worked in the veterinarian institute in August, Xinhua reported at the time. In the months after the outbreak, provincial and municipal officials launched an investigation into the leak at the factory, according to the Lanzhou Health Commission. By January, authorities had revoked vaccine production licenses for the plant, and withdrew product approval numbers for its two Brucellosis vaccines. A total of seven veterinary drug product approval numbers were also canceled in the factory. In February, the factory issued a public apology, and said it had "severely punished" eight people who were determined as responsible for the incident. It added that it would cooperate with local authorities in the response and cleanup efforts, and contribute to a compensation program for those affected. The Lanzhou Health Commission also announced in its report on Tuesday that 11 public hospitals would provide free and regular checkups for the infected patients. The report didn't offer additional details on the compensation for patients, except that it would be launched in batches starting October. Brucellosis had been much more common in China in the 1980s, though it has since declined with the emergence of vaccines and better disease prevention and control. Still, there have been a smattering of brucellosis outbreaks around the world in the past few decades; an outbreak in Bosnia infected about 1,000 people in 2008, prompting the culling of sheep and other infected livestock. In the US, brucellosis has cost the federal government and livestock industry billions of dollars. About 60% of female bison at Yellowstone National Park carry the bacteria, according to national park authorities.
Alternate story here: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3101816/health-china-exhaust-fumes-animal-vaccine-plant-leave-thousands
Info re US livestock vaccine: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=39151
Every state decides on the requirement for brucellosis vaccination in cattle. In California, assembly bill 1801 repealed the mandatory calfhood vaccination for intact female beef breeds 12 months of age or older and sold within the state as of January 1, 2020. In other words, it is not a requirement anymore that beef breed heifers or cows show evidence of Bangs vaccination before they can be sold within this state. To be clear, there was no requirement to vaccinate beef breed heifers before this law was passed in California if they didn't change ownership. For dairy breed heifers, the story is quite different. They still need to be Bangs vaccinated if they are moved within the state as young as 4 months of age, with some exceptions, e.g. if they are sold directly to slaughter or an approved feedlot.
The new freedom raises the question: should I continue vaccinating my heifers for brucellosis? Let's first take a step back and talk about what brucellosis is: brucellosis is a serious and contagious livestock disease that causes late-term abortions in cattle. The causative agent in cattle is Brucella abortus. The disease poses a significant public health risk because it can be transmitted to people. Drinking raw milk or eating soft cheese made from raw milk from infected animals is a common risk factor to contract the disease. Exposure to tissues and fluids from cattle aborting due to brucellosis is another way that farm workers can catch brucellosis. In humans, the disease is also known as undulant fever because of its ability to cause intermittent bouts of fever. Other symptoms include joint and muscle pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, and orchitis (inflammation of the testes) in men. Brucellosis in people often results in chronic disease lasting months or years. No wonder there was a huge effort in eradicating this disease from cattle in the United States. Through a combination of vaccination, testing and quarantine, removal of positive animals and continued surveillance, we have reached a state where the entire United States has been officially declared brucellosis free. The last infected herd in California was found in 1997 and there hasn't been a case here in cattle since. The only pocket where brucellosis is still around in the US is the Greater Yellowstone Area in the Montana/Wyoming/Idaho region, where brucellosis still lingers in wildlife such as elk and bison and occasionally spills over into a cattle herd. Regulations around vaccination and testing of cattle in the Designated Surveillance Area of that region are strict, e.g. a negative blood test is required for movement or change of ownership for all breeding cattle with few exceptions.
Here in California, far away from any possible brucellosis cases, why one should still vaccinate for a disease we don't have seems to be a legitimate question. Here are some thoughts on what the advantages and disadvantages may be: [snip] (for pros/cons)
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