HEALTH authorities and agricultural researchers in China have joined forces to investigate the source of a recent brucellosis outbreak that infected nearly 100 people at a research institute in Northwest China, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which oversees the institute, said Sunday.

The pathogen, which mainly infects livestock and cannot be transmitted between humans, was first singled out at a hospital in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, on Dec. 2, when four people from the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute were suspected of brucellosis infection.

The city’s health commission said Friday that 65 of the 263 people at the institution tested positive for the bacteria. The infected personnel, mostly laboratory researchers, were put under treatment and medical observation, it added.

The number of infections was reported to have climbed to 96 by 12 p.m. Saturday after tests expanded to 317 people, though none had displayed symptoms of the disease, China Central Television quoted the Lanzhou disease control and prevention center as saying.

In a statement posted on its website Sunday, the academy said it was cooperating with the National Health Commission and local authorities to hunt down the source of infection to eradicate risks of future spread. “Investigation into possible negligence or lapses that led to the outbreak is also underway, and we will hold violators accountable,” it added.

The academy also urged all affiliated institutions to conduct thorough examinations of biosafety hazards and shut down laboratories that present risks.

(China Daily)