Brucellosis Outbreak in China, 2019

Lina, Shah; Kunasekaran, Mohana; Moa, Aye

doi:10.31646/gbio.108

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…testing 68,571 people (attack rate 15.4%) [20]. There were no deaths reported related to this outbreak.…”

Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The outbreak initially affected 213 individuals from the nearby Veterinary Research Institute, 8 workers from the biopharmaceutical plant, 2,500 residents of neighboring areas, and 150 people located further away [ 19 ]. Until November 30, 2020, when the investigation was completed, the infection was confirmed in 10,528 individuals after testing 68,571 people (attack rate 15.4%) [ 20 ]. There were no deaths reported related to this outbreak.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What risk do Brucella vaccines pose to humans? A systematic review of the scientific literature on occupational exposure

Vives-Soto,

Puerta-García,

Rodríguez-Sánchez

et al. 2024

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Background Currently, vaccination of livestock with attenuated strains of Brucella remains an essential measure for controlling brucellosis, although these vaccines may be dangerous to humans. The aim of this study was to review the risk posed to humans by occupational exposure to vaccine strains and the measures that should be implemented to minimize this risk. Methods This article reviewed the scientific literature indexed in PubMed up to September 30, 2023, following "the PRISMA guidelines". Special emphasis was placed on the vaccine strain used and the route of exposure. Non-occupational exposure to vaccine strains, intentional human inoculation, publications on exposure to wild strains, and secondary scientific sources were excluded from the study. Results Nineteen primary reports were found and classified in three subgroups: safety accidents in vaccine factories that led to an outbreak (n = 2), survellaince studies on vaccine manufacturing workers with a serologic diagnosis of Brucella infection (n = 3), and publications of infection by vaccine strains during their administration, including case reports, records of occupational accidents and investigations of outbreaks in vaccination campaigns (n = 14). Although accidental exposure during vaccine manufacturing were uncommon, they could provoke large outbreaks through airborne spread with risk of spread to the neighboring population. Besides, despite strict protection measures, a percentage of vaccine manufacturing workers developed positive Brucella serology without clinical infection. The most frequent type of exposure with symptomatic infection was needle injury during vaccine administration. Prolonged contact with the pathogen, lack of information and a low adherence to personal protective equipment (PPE) use in the work environment were commonly associated with infection. Conclusions Brucella vaccines pose occupational risk of contagion to humans from their production to their administration to livestock, although morbidity is low and deaths were not reported. Recommended protective measures and active surveillance of exposed workers appeared to reduce this risk. It would be advisable to carry out observational studies and/or systematic registries using solid diagnostic criteria.

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“…testing 68,571 people (attack rate 15.4%) [20]. There were no deaths reported related to this outbreak.…”

Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What risk do Brucella vaccines pose to humans? A systematic review of the scientific literature on occupational exposure

Vives-Soto,

Puerta-García,

Rodríguez-Sánchez

et al. 2024

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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“…The fact that the first cluster of cases was in the vicinity of a world‐leading coronavirus laboratory known to be experimenting on SARS‐like viruses, as well as a second lab that was also working on coronaviruses, cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. Well‐known examples of consequential lab‐origin epidemics include the accidental leakage of weaponized anthrax at a Soviet bioweapons facility in Sverdlovsk (The National Security Archive, 2001), the 1977 Russian influenza pandemic (Rozo & Gronvall, 2015), and more recently, a substantial leak of aerosolized Brucella from a pharmaceutical plant in China in 2019 (Lina, Kunasekaran, & Moa, 2021). A common theme in such accidents has been denial and cover‐up.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Well-known examples of consequential lab-origin epidemics include the accidental leakage of weaponized anthrax at a Soviet bioweapons facility in Sverdlovsk (The National Security Archive, 2001), the 1977 Russian influenza pandemic (Rozo & Gronvall, 2015), and more recently, a substantial leak of aerosolized Brucella from a pharmaceutical plant in China in 2019 (Lina, Kunasekaran, & Moa, 2021). A common theme in such accidents has been denial and coverup.…”

Section: Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of a risk assessment tool to determine the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)

Chen,

Kalyar,

Chughtai

et al. 2024

Risk Analysis

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The origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is contentious. Most studies have focused on a zoonotic origin, but definitive evidence such as an intermediary animal host is lacking. We used an established risk analysis tool for differentiating natural and unnatural epidemics, the modified Grunow–Finke assessment tool (mGFT) to study the origin of SARS‐COV‐2. The mGFT scores 11 criteria to provide a likelihood of natural or unnatural origin. Using published literature and publicly available sources of information, we applied the mGFT to the origin of SARS‐CoV‐2. The mGFT scored 41/60 points (68%), with high inter‐rater reliability (100%), indicating a greater likelihood of an unnatural than natural origin of SARS‐CoV‐2. This risk assessment cannot prove the origin of SARS‐CoV‐2 but shows that the possibility of a laboratory origin cannot be easily dismissed.

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“…Human infections of H5N1 avian influenza in Hong Kong in 1997, which originated among poultry farmed in Guangdong, also led to political censorship, with Hong Kong officials reportedly anxious not to provoke Beijing by publicly discussing the source (34). The accidental release of Brucella in late 2019 from a biopharmaceutical plant in the city of Lanzhou, during which approximately 10,000 people were infected by the bacteria, was also met with censorship (35,36). More recently, residents in Tibet were threatened with prosecution for publicly discussing cases of pneumonic plague, after infections and deaths were recorded there in late 2022 (37).…”

Section: Comparison With Past Outbreaksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increase in febrile illness among children in mainland China, winter 2023 - 2024

Keep,

Heslop

2024

Global Biosecurity

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In late 2023, mainland China reportedly saw a rise in respiratory illnesses, primarily among children. Officials from the Chinese Center for Disease Control attributed this increase to the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2, and mycoplasma pneumoniae, to which the population had only limited exposure while strict “zero Covid” measures were enforced in recent years. However, outside observers raised concerns that a novel infectious agent could be circulating, and the World Health Organisation took the unusual step of publicizing a request for further information from Beijing. While no novel pathogen has been identified at the time of writing, this apprehension among the international press, and among some public health experts, is an instructive reminder of how unresolved issues relating to the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 continue to impact international public health. Such reactions suggest that the political control of epidemiological data in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on international collaboration, institutional trust and global health security. Resolving these issues is essential if the world is to be prepared for future infectious disease outbreaks of potential international concern.

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Brucellosis Outbreak in China, 2019

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

What risk do Brucella vaccines pose to humans? A systematic review of the scientific literature on occupational exposure

What risk do Brucella vaccines pose to humans? A systematic review of the scientific literature on occupational exposure

Use of a risk assessment tool to determine the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2)

Increase in febrile illness among children in mainland China, winter 2023 - 2024

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