The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases has just received and treated two cases of male patients infected with streptococcal pig disease leading to serious complications such as meningitis, sepsis and permanent hearing loss - an irreversible sequela.
Mr. N.V.P (62 years old, Bac Ninh) has a habit of eating sour spring rolls made from raw pork and blood pudding. About 10 days before being hospitalized, he started a continuous high fever of 3940 degrees Celsius, accompanied by a severe headache, nausea and vomiting. Although self-dribed at home, the condition only temporarily subsided.
When he was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, he was determined to have meningitis and sepsis caused by the pig's blood clotting. By the second day of treatment, he had lost all hearing, skin and lining of the blood vessel. Cerebrovascular culture results are positive for Streptococcus suis. After 12 days of intensive treatment, Mr. P was clinically stable, but the deafness sequelae could not be repaired.
Patient L.V.N (54 years old, Lao Cai) ate pork intestines and had to consume blood about a week before the disease started. After that, he had a high fever, chills, headaches, and was treated at a local hospital but did not improve, then transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in a state of meningitis, pneumonia, ear, and cervical stiffness.
Tests showed signs of severe infection: white blood cell index doubled, CRP was 10 times higher than normal, cerebral edema had 1,370 cells/mm3, glucose was lowered near the reached of exhaustion. The dyeing results determined that the patient had streptococcal connections and had damage to the auditory nerve, leading to loss of sound transmission.
Doctor Le Van Thieu, Department of General Infection, said: Inflammation of the meninges and sepsis are two typical manifestations when people are infected with streptococcusatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedatedated pigs. Of which, hearing loss is the most common complication and cannot be cured.
He emphasized that the disease can progress rapidly, from mild such as pneumonia, sepsis to severe such as septic shock, multiple organ failure, and even death if not treated promptly. There is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease, so prevention is the only effective measure.
People absolutely should not eat raw vegetables, spring rolls, uncooked or unsanitary pork. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid slaughtering and processing pigs suspected of being sick if there is no protective gear.
"When there are signs such as high fever, headache, ear tightness, nausea... you need to go to a medical facility immediately. In reality, despite many warnings, unsafe eating habits still exist, continuing to put people at risk of dangerous diseases Dr. Thieu warned.
