New bacterial infection, which affects men's fertility, reports in China

By Pramod Thomas

MORE depressing reports are coming from China again, it seems.

Thousands in China tested positive for a new bacteria which will adversely affect men's fertility.

The Brucella bacteria infection was reportedly caused by contact with livestock.

According to reports, the infection can have the side effect of inflamed testicles and can render some men infertile.

The novel coronavirus was first originated in Wuhan, China last year.

Currently, more than 30.35 million people have been reported to be infected by the virus globally and 947,400​ have died.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in December 2019.

As many as 3,245 people have tested positive for the brucellosis, the disease caused by Brucella bacteria infection, as per the health commission of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province.

Several thousand people in northwest China have tested positive for the disease.

The US body centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) said the disease, also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever, can cause headaches, muscle pain, fever and fatigue.

While these symptoms may subside, some symptoms can become chronic or never go away, like arthritis or swelling in certain organs.

The CDC said human-to-human transmission in this disease is extremely rare and infection spreads mostly through consumption of contaminated food or breathing in the bacteria -- which seems to be the case in Lanzhou.

The infection happened after a leak last year between late July and August at the Zhongmu Lanzhou biological pharmaceutical factory, which produces Brucella vaccines for animal use.

The factory allegedly used expired disinfectants and sanitizers hence not all bacteria were eradicated in the waste.

Though only a few people were infected initially, testing of 21,000 people has showed the number infections to be much higher.

“The number is way larger than expected and raised widespread concern over the disease’s spread and its consequences,” reported China’s state-run Global Times newspaper.