While the world continues to suffer from the coronavirus pandemic that is said to have originated in China, an outbreak of another disease called Brucellosis has infected over 3000 people in north-east China.

The outbreak of the bacterial disease is said to have been caused by a leak at a biopharmaceutical company last year, authorities said last week.

What is Brucellosis?

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria from the livestock which can also infect humans.

People can get the disease when they are in contact with infected animals or animal products contaminated with the bacteria. Animals that are most commonly infected include sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and dogs, among others.

Symtoms of Brucellosis

The disease Brucellosis, also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever, can cause symptoms including headaches, muscle pain, fever and fatigue.

While 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).

A report in South China Morning Post quoted Zhu Guoqiang, a professor at Yangzhou University’s College of Veterinary Medicine saying that in serious cases, brucellosis could cause lasting damage to the reproductive system. “If not treated properly, men can become infertile,” he said.

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.

Cause of the outbreak

This outbreak began 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 the wind down to the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, where the outbreak first hit.

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 cancelled 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.