5 terrible diseases from pigs that can be transmitted to humans
The risk of contracting dangerous diseases transmitted from pigs to humans is very high if the food is not cooked thoroughly and boiled during processing. In addition to diarrhea and tapeworm infection, people infected with diseases from pigs can die.
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1. Brain disease from pigs
People with purulent meningitis and septicemia caused by Streptococcus suis bacteria transmitted from pigs to humans.
People with purulent meningitis have symptoms of fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, chills. Due to damage to the meninges, most patients have impaired perception, even coma, tinnitus or deafness, some people also have weakness in their limbs. If infected with Streptococcus suis, the patient has fever, muscle aches, sore throat, even septic shock, coma.
Streptococcus suis is a bacterium that normally resides in the respiratory tract of pigs and can cause disease in these animals. Humans are infected with Streptococcus suis mainly through direct contact with infected pigs, sick pigs or undercooked infected meat. The bacteria enter through wounds on the skin or mucous membranes of the nose and mouth.
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Pork should be thoroughly cooked before eating. Illustration: Internet |
2. Blue ear pig disease
Easily combined with other diseases and life-threatening: It is known that blue ear disease in pigs was discovered a decade ago and is still a pandemic disease in the livestock industry.
In severe cases, the lymph nodes are swollen, the meat is flabby and red. The lungs have clear grooves, and the kidneys bleed. Blue-ear pig disease is not transmitted to humans, but nearly 70% of this virus is combined with other diseases such as swine flu, septicemia, cholera, and typhoid. For swine flu combined with blue-ear pig disease, the possibility of transmission to humans is very low. Meanwhile, septicemia, cholera, and typhoid can cause digestive disorders in humans.
3. Foot and mouth disease
According to Associate Professor - Dr. Tran Dang - Former Director of the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene (Ministry of Health), foot and mouth disease in pigs can be transmitted to humans (but the rate is low).
The disease is mainly transmitted through food contact, the virus that causes the disease can cause inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, cold sores, mouth ulcers... in humans. Normally, on the cut piece of meat, it is impossible to know whether it came from a pig with foot and mouth disease; therefore, it is best to cook the meat thoroughly to eliminate the pathogen.
4. Roundworm disease
Is an acute or subacute infectious disease caused by roundworm larvae, if not treated promptly, the disease will have dangerous complications, even death.
The main source of the disease is pigs, the disease is transmitted to humans when people eat pork with uncooked larvae from eating dishes such as raw pork rolls, eating rare pork, smoked or salted meat, and eating pig's blood pudding.
The disease can occur at any age, the severity of the disease depends on the level of larval infection, the acidity of gastric juice and digestive disorders. If the patient has a lot of diarrhea, the condition will improve a lot. After about 15 days since the larvae enter the skeletal muscle from the blood and form a cyst, there are the following main symptoms: Fever, muscle pain, edema... If not treated promptly, many complications can occur such as respiratory failure, liver failure, heart failure, exhaustion, secondary infection, headache, delirium...
5. Streptococcal disease in pigs
Caused by Streptococcus suis and is capable of spreading to humans. Streptococcus suis is a streptococcus, oval, Gram (+) stained and arranged in chains. Streptococcal disease is an infectious disease that can occur in most warm-blooded animals, including pigs and humans.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap (National Hospital of Tropical Diseases) said that streptococcus suis bacteria often reside year-round in the throats of some pigs without causing disease. However, when pigs are infected with the blue ear virus, their immune system is weakened, causing streptococcus bacteria to thrive, causing pneumonia and sepsis in pigs.
When slaughtering these sick pigs, or destroying them improperly, and then processing the meat before cooking, many people, not knowing that the pigs are sick, still eat fresh products from pigs such as blood pudding, pig intestines, nem chao, etc., then the human body will absorb a large amount of live streptococcus suis bacteria. Especially, in patients with diabetes, liver failure, alcoholism, etc., streptococcus suis bacteria are more likely to cause disease.
