Slaughtering pigs to make blood pudding for Tet - Beware of contracting deadly diseases.
Every Lunar New Year, the number of patients hospitalized due to streptococcal infection from pigs increases significantly, with many cases being in serious condition, and some even resulting in death.
According to MSc. Dr. Dong Phu Khiem - Deputy Head of the Intensive Care Unit, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, at the end of the year, according to the customs of many localities, families will slaughter pigs to prepare dishes for Tet (Lunar New Year) and other festive occasions.blood puddingPork is also indispensable. This dish is the cause of the dangerous streptococcal disease in pigs.
Despite numerous warnings from the media, the practice of consuming raw pig blood soup remains quite common.
Dr. Khiem warned that when infected with Streptococcus suis, patients will suffer from multiple organ failure, purulent meningitis, etc., if they arrive at the hospital late. Even in cases where patients arrive early, the treatment and resuscitation process is extremely difficult.
"For example, in 2019, the hospital had about a few dozen severe cases of multiple organ failure shock admitted. Furthermore, the number of patients with severe meningitis accounted for 50-60% of meningitis cases with the cause identified as Streptococcus suis," said the Intensive Care specialist.
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| Patients infected with Streptococcus suis require expensive treatment and are at risk of critical multi-organ failure. (Illustrative image.) |
Dr. Dong Phu Khiem added: The skin signs of patients infected with Streptococcus suis include skin necrosis, affecting the fingertips, face, etc. In some cases, even after recovery, there may be sequelae such as hearing loss, and necrosis of the fingertips requiring amputation or joint removal.
Some cases, when detected and treated early, have a high survival rate. In some cases, the time from ingestion to the onset of symptoms is only about 2-3 days, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and a rash appearing on the body.
According to MSc. Dr. Dong Phu Khiem, for patients...Streptococcus suis infectionDuring treatment, patients will receive dialysis, mechanical ventilation, and maximum resuscitation... However, some patients still face serious risks. Even if their lives are saved, the family will spend weeks caring for the patient and incur significant costs.
Therefore, Dr. Khiem advises: People should absolutely not eat blood pudding, and should not use meat from sick or dead pigs because there is a very high risk of streptococcal infection in pigs.
Streptococcal infection in humans is an acute infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans via the gastrointestinal tract, primarily from pigs.
Symptoms include: high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, deafness, stiff neck, altered consciousness, various bleeding in several parts of the body, cold body temperature, hypotension... The disease usually progresses severely and has a very high mortality rate. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent the disease.
To proactively prevent and control streptococcal infection in humans during the Lunar New Year and early 2021 festival season, the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, recommends that people take the following measures:
1. Do not eat raw blood pudding or other undercooked pork products.
2. Do not buy, sell, transport, or slaughter sick or dead pigs, or pork products that are unsanitary or of unknown origin; do not use pork that has an unusual red color, bleeding, or edema.
3. Practice good personal hygiene, use gloves and necessary protective equipment when handling pigs or processing pork, and wash hands frequently with soap.
4. Dispose of sick and dead pigs in accordance with regulations.
5. When symptoms of illness appear, it is necessary to go to a medical facility immediately for examination and timely treatment.
