Doctors are still trying to find a drug that can treat a pig-borne illness that has killed 24 people in China's southwest and sickened scores, state media reported yesterday.
A total of 117 confirmed or suspected cases have been found since last month among people who handled sick pigs in Sichuan Province, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry has blamed the disease on streptococcus suis, a type of bacteria carried by pigs.
"Doctors are yet to find specific drugs to treat the disease," the official Xinhua News Agency said. It quoted Health Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an (
For now, patients are receiving heavy doses of antibiotics, "but with the death toll mounting, it is clear this approach is unsatisfactory," the China Daily said.
No transmission of the disease from person to person has been found, the ministry said.
The disease causes high fever, bleeding under the skin and shock related to poisoning, according to the Health Ministry.
The outbreak prompted fears that it might be bird flu or a resurgence of SARS. China is trying to contain an outbreak of bird flu in its northwest, where thousands of migratory birds have died.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was watching the situation closely.
"This is a disconcertingly high mortality rate," WHO spokesman Bob Dietz said on Tuesday.
The illnesses prompted Hong Kong supermarkets to stop buying pork exported from the area.
Experts are trying to develop a vaccine to inoculate pigs against the bacteria, Xinhua said, citing Central Agricultural University vice president Chen Huanchun (陳煥春).
The researchers are expected to produce a viable inoculation in about a week, Chen said.
The reported cases include 76 confirmed and 41 suspected, including 21 people who are hospitalized in critical condition.
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