Eating sick pork and eating duck blood pudding, two patients in critical condition

On March 23, Mr. Do Duy Cuong - Director of the Tropical Disease Center, Bach Mai Hospital said that the Center is currently providing emergency care and treatment for two patients with meningitis and septicemia caused by Streptococcus suis bacteria.

One case contracted the disease after slaughtering and eating sick pork, and another case contracted streptococcus suis after eating raw blood pudding.

The first patient, according to his family: At noon on March 6, Mr. Ha Van E. (73 years old, in Duy Tien, Ha Nam ) was given a sick pig weighing about 50 kg by his neighbor. He slaughtered the pig and cooked it himself.

Image of a patient with streptococcus suis septicemia (photo source Bach Mai Hospital).

After a day, Mr. E. had a headache, nausea, high fever and panic. His family took him to Hung Ha Hospital ( Hung Yen ), where he was diagnosed with sepsis/multiple organ failure.

Due to severe progression, Mr. E. was transferred to the Tropical Disease Center - Bach Mai Hospital on March 8.

At the Tropical Disease Center - Bach Mai Hospital, the patient received emergency care, intensive resuscitation, high-dose antibiotics and comprehensive care.

With clinical symptoms, manifestations of multiple organ failure and cerebrospinal fluid puncture results showing increased protein - 2.58g/l, microscopy showed Gram-positive cocci in pairs, blood culture showed Streptococcus suis.

This is a typical case of meningitis caused by streptococcus suis after epidemiological factors of contact with sick and dead pigs (during the slaughter of sick pigs) and eating pork containing bacteria.

The second patient, Dinh Van Kh. (41 years old, in Hung Yen), contracted purulent meningitis caused by streptococcus suis after 9 days of eating duck blood pudding.

According to the patient's family, 9 days before being admitted to the hospital, the patient ate duck blood pudding bought at the market.

One day later, the patient had an unknown fever with headache and fatigue. The patient was taken to Pho Noi General Hospital, Hung Yen, for pain relief.

On March 13, the patient had severe headaches, was restless and irritable, so he was taken to the Tropical Disease Center, Bach Mai Hospital. With clinical experience and the results of cerebrospinal fluid culture showing Streptococcus suis, the doctors agreed on the diagnosis: The patient had meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis after eating duck blood pudding.

Mr. Do Duy Cuong said: Streptococcus suis is a disease transmitted from pigs to humans. Most cases are related to slaughtering, eating raw blood pudding or foods made from undercooked pork...

Some restaurants now use pig's blood mixed with goose, duck, goat blood, etc. to sell in stores, but when tested, they still found Streptococcus suis bacteria.

In addition, there are also some cases where patients do not eat blood pudding or slaughter pigs but still get sick because they may have eaten infected pork but processed it raw, or come into contact with infected pigs through skin lesions or scratches when preparing food.

People infected with Streptococcus suis include 3 forms: Sepsis, purulent meningitis or a combination of both. The incubation period of Streptococcus suis in humans is from a few hours to 4-5 days, depending on each person's constitution.

When infected with streptococcus suis, the patient has symptoms of fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, possibly diarrhea, etc., which many people mistake for common digestive disorders and food poisoning.

In severe cases, the patient may experience tinnitus, deafness, stiff neck, lethargy, panic, necrotic rashes on the skin due to sepsis, multiple organ failure, blood clotting disorders and septic shock, and rapid death if not detected and treated promptly.

The Tropical Disease Center - Bach Mai Hospital receives and treats dozens of cases of sepsis and meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis every year, admitted in severe condition with a mortality rate of up to 20-30%. If the patient survives, the rate of sequelae is also very high, commonly irreversible deafness.

Doctors recommend: Streptococcus suis bacteria can be completely destroyed when food is thoroughly cooked.

There is currently no vaccine for this disease, so to prevent it, people should not slaughter sick or dead pigs. Gloves and protective equipment should be worn when handling raw or undercooked pork, and hands should be washed thoroughly after handling meat.

People also need to give up unhealthy eating habits such as blood pudding (including pig blood pudding and blood puddings from goats, geese, and ducks). When symptoms of the disease appear, they need to go to medical facilities immediately for timely detection and treatment.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/an-thit-lon-om-va-tiet-canh-ngan-hai-benh-nhan-nguy-kich-post240519.html