China is struggling in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic with a highly infectious bacterial disease known as brucellosis that has infected thousands of people in a northwest area. 3,245 people in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, tested positive for antibodies to brucella bacteria after being exposed to contaminated air by a pharmaceutical firm last year, according to a study published in the South China Morning Post. Contaminated exhaust fumes from the Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Factory, a unit of the state-owned China Animal Husbandry Industry, are said to be the reason for the infection.

The most common way to become infected with bacteria is by consuming or drinking unpasteurized / raw dairy products. However, brucellosis-causing bacteria may also be transmitted through the air or by direct contact with infected animals. These bacteria, via open wounds or mucous membranes, may reach the body. Although brucellosis transmitted from person to person is extremely rare, the CDC notes that breastfeeding mothers who are infected with the bacteria can transmit the infection to their infants. While sexual transmission has rarely been recorded, transmission of the disease can also occur through tissue transplantation or blood transfusions.

Source: Galli 2 Delhi