A pig-borne disease that has killed 36 people and infected 198 in China may be spreading from human to human, according to some scientists, while others suggest an entirely different disease is to blame.
The Chinese government, which has just delivered the first shipment of pig-vaccines to the affected area, says no evidence of human-to-human transmission has been found, and the spread of the disease is now under control.
But experts counter the denial, pointing out that transmission from pig to human is actually quite difficult, and that the high numbers of infected people suggest the disease is spreading from person to person."The organism is carried on the pig’s tonsils and is spread pig-to-pig through nose rubbing or coughing. But it’s only found in small concentration on the pigs’ tonsils, so it’s difficult for a human to catch it that way," Jill Thompson from the UK’s Veterinary Investigation Centre in Edinburgh told New Scientist.
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