Chinese "Suis" Spreads to Hong Kong - H5N1 - Captain Trips?
The Hong Kong government reported an 11th human infection from a "pig-borne illness" that has killed dozens of people and infected hundreds in China, the source of a rising food scare that has spread to eels and fresh-water fish.
Hong Kong's Department of Health said a 62-year-old Kowloon woman contracted streptococcus suis, a bacteria that causes fever, chills, joint pain, and in extreme cases, can lead to death.
Marcello Gottschalk, a world leader in _Streptococcus suis_ research, said that he fears the latest cases of the pig-borne disease on the mainland and Hong Kong may be more complicated than the authorities suspect.
Gottschalk, a professor at the University of Montreal, leads the International Reference Laboratory for identifying _S. suis_. The symptoms exhibited by patients are different from anything else he has witnessed, he says.
"What is happening in China is that you don't see meningitis, which is the typical symptom, [instead] you see toxic shock, bleeding under the skin and the incubation time is shorter," he said.
In addition to the different symptoms, Gottschalk also noted the mortality rate is significantly higher. "Typically, the mortality rate is less than 5 per cent in humans, but this time it's different.
People are dying very fast, sometimes within hours, and there is a mortality rate of more than 20 percent," he said.
Gottschalk said he suspects _S. suis_ has obtained genetic material [from] other strains.
Hong Kong's Department of Health said a 62-year-old Kowloon woman contracted streptococcus suis, a bacteria that causes fever, chills, joint pain, and in extreme cases, can lead to death.
Marcello Gottschalk, a world leader in _Streptococcus suis_ research, said that he fears the latest cases of the pig-borne disease on the mainland and Hong Kong may be more complicated than the authorities suspect.
Gottschalk, a professor at the University of Montreal, leads the International Reference Laboratory for identifying _S. suis_. The symptoms exhibited by patients are different from anything else he has witnessed, he says.
"What is happening in China is that you don't see meningitis, which is the typical symptom, [instead] you see toxic shock, bleeding under the skin and the incubation time is shorter," he said.
In addition to the different symptoms, Gottschalk also noted the mortality rate is significantly higher. "Typically, the mortality rate is less than 5 per cent in humans, but this time it's different.
People are dying very fast, sometimes within hours, and there is a mortality rate of more than 20 percent," he said.
Gottschalk said he suspects _S. suis_ has obtained genetic material [from] other strains.
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