Ticks kill 21 in hushed-up outbreak
By Meng Tiexia |
September 9, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HEALTH authorities in central China's Henan Province said last night that 18 people had died of infection from a series of tick bites that have been kept secret.
Another three fatalities were reported in Penglai City, east China's Shandong Province.
The 18 victims were among 557 reported cases of suspected human granulocytic anaplasmosis since the first case was reported in Xinyang City of Henan in May 2007, Xinhua news agency reported.
Most of the cases were found in Xinyang's Shangcheng and Guangshan counties and Shihe and Pingqiao districts, the provincial Public Health Department said.
The disease is often reported from May to August. And most people infected are between ages 40 to 70, according to officials.
The cases mainly were reported in rural areas where hygiene conditions are questionable, sina.com quoted Yu Xinbing, a parasite expert at Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University.
Pets in urban areas rarely have the ticks because the owners will regularly clean them, Yu said.
HGA reduces white blood cell and platelet counts in the blood, leading to organ failure and death. People in close contact with the patient can also be infected if no precautions are taken. The disease is curable if treated soon enough.
An outbreak of tick bite infection was reported last year in Henan, but local health authorities just hushed it up, according to state radio.
"Those suffering from tick bite injuries and the families of those killed (by the bites) brought up the issue last year," China National Radio yesterday quoted He Zhengquan, a reporter from Henan's Dahe Newspaper who covered last year's outbreak. "But the city health bureau didn't pay enough attention, citing secrecy reasons."
"How can they keep it secret for ever?" He said.
Silence on the part of the health officials triggered panic and rumors among local villagers, according to the radio station.
Besides Henan, tick bite cases have been reported in five other provincial regions, all mountainous areas or areas with large waterways.
Among them were three villagers who were killed in July in Penglai City, Shandong Province, according to the radio station.
Tick attacks first appeared in Xinyang in 2007 when several people reported a skin rash after being bitten by the ticks. The number of victims started to climb up in 2009 when a few deaths were reported. This year's situation has been the worst, Yang Fu, a village official in Shangcheng County, told The Beijing News.
For most patients in Shangcheng, the first symptom was fever - something easily misdiagnosed by local village doctors.
Another three fatalities were reported in Penglai City, east China's Shandong Province.
The 18 victims were among 557 reported cases of suspected human granulocytic anaplasmosis since the first case was reported in Xinyang City of Henan in May 2007, Xinhua news agency reported.
Most of the cases were found in Xinyang's Shangcheng and Guangshan counties and Shihe and Pingqiao districts, the provincial Public Health Department said.
The disease is often reported from May to August. And most people infected are between ages 40 to 70, according to officials.
The cases mainly were reported in rural areas where hygiene conditions are questionable, sina.com quoted Yu Xinbing, a parasite expert at Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University.
Pets in urban areas rarely have the ticks because the owners will regularly clean them, Yu said.
HGA reduces white blood cell and platelet counts in the blood, leading to organ failure and death. People in close contact with the patient can also be infected if no precautions are taken. The disease is curable if treated soon enough.
An outbreak of tick bite infection was reported last year in Henan, but local health authorities just hushed it up, according to state radio.
"Those suffering from tick bite injuries and the families of those killed (by the bites) brought up the issue last year," China National Radio yesterday quoted He Zhengquan, a reporter from Henan's Dahe Newspaper who covered last year's outbreak. "But the city health bureau didn't pay enough attention, citing secrecy reasons."
"How can they keep it secret for ever?" He said.
Silence on the part of the health officials triggered panic and rumors among local villagers, according to the radio station.
Besides Henan, tick bite cases have been reported in five other provincial regions, all mountainous areas or areas with large waterways.
Among them were three villagers who were killed in July in Penglai City, Shandong Province, according to the radio station.
Tick attacks first appeared in Xinyang in 2007 when several people reported a skin rash after being bitten by the ticks. The number of victims started to climb up in 2009 when a few deaths were reported. This year's situation has been the worst, Yang Fu, a village official in Shangcheng County, told The Beijing News.
For most patients in Shangcheng, the first symptom was fever - something easily misdiagnosed by local village doctors.
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