Complications of meningitis caused by swine streptococcus

The Department of Gastrointestinal Infectious Diseases (A4B), 108 Central Military Hospital recently received many cases of meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis. Most of the patients were admitted with symptoms of deafness and tinnitus.

Male patient named VT, about 50 years old, was admitted to the hospital in a state of alertness, slow response, headache, nausea, vomiting, sudden hearing loss, and complete deafness.

Through epidemiological investigation, it was found that the patient was a construction worker. Two days before the onset of the disease, the patient had eaten pig's blood pudding. After a combination of examination and testing, the doctor diagnosed: meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis with complications of deafness in both ears.

After a period of active treatment, the patient is now stable, however hearing needs longer to recover.

Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Dang Manh, Director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Head of the Department of Gastrointestinal Infectious Diseases (A4B), said that meningitis caused by swine streptococcus is a very dangerous disease with many serious complications, of which hearing loss is a common complication that affects the daily life of patients.

People should pay attention to the symptoms of the disease. Meningitis often has the following symptoms: High fever with chills; headache, dizziness; nausea and vomiting; muscle aches.

Signs of meningitis: muscle stiffness (especially stiffness in the neck), impaired consciousness (delirium, drowsiness), agitation, even coma, tremors of the extremities. Typically hearing loss. In addition, the patient may have skin rashes: petechiae, purpura; necrosis of fingers and toes.

Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Dang Manh recommends that for meningitis caused by swine streptococcus, in addition to detecting and treating the disease, disease prevention is also extremely important.

Streptococcus suis (swine streptococcus) can be transmitted from pigs to humans and can be found in cattle, dogs, cats, birds, etc. Therefore, people need to prevent and control diseases in pigs and vaccinate pigs according to the correct procedure. You should choose to buy pork that has been inspected by veterinary agencies and has a clear origin.

Avoid buying pork that is unusually red, has hemorrhages or is swollen. Do not slaughter or eat pork that is sick or of unknown origin.

Eat cooked food and drink boiled water, do not eat dead pigs, do not eat raw foods, especially pig's blood pudding and fermented pork rolls during the epidemic.

People with open wounds should wear gloves when handling raw or undercooked pork.

Must keep processing tools in a clean place, wash hands and processing tools after contact with, processing pork. Use separate tools to process raw meat and cooked meat.

This is a disease that leaves serious consequences, even death. If you experience one of the above symptoms, you need to go to a reputable medical facility immediately for timely examination and treatment.

According to medical experts, Streptococcus suis is a dangerous infectious disease that can occur in most warm-blooded animals, mainly pigs and humans. The disease often comes from the habit of eating blood pudding and eating sick, dead, undercooked pork or coming into contact with sick or dead pigs without protective gear...

The disease increases sharply during hot weather and can be fatal if there are no timely prevention and treatment measures.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health not long ago showed that about 70% of patients with streptococcus suis had eaten blood pudding, the rest had eaten raw nem chao, had contact with, and slaughtered sick pigs. The previous epidemiological investigation by the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology also gave similar results, nearly 70% of patients with streptococcus suis had slaughtered, eaten raw pork, and blood pudding./.

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