September 8, 2005

Thailand reports brucellosis outbreak

Local authorities in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province have reported an outbreak of brucellosis in 27 workers at a dairy goat farm in Thong Pha Phum district. The disease was apparently caught from infected goats.

Brucellosis is transmitted to humans by contact with infected meat, the placenta of infected animals or ingestion of unpasteurised milk or cheese.

The workers were expected to recover after completing their medication, local authorities said.

Brucellosis was first reported at the farm recently, with at least 300 of over 5,000 dairy and meat goats showing the symptoms. So far, no human-to-human transmission had been reported, according to the government.

2,036 goats from the farm were recently culled and the entire district was quarantined. The movement of goats and sheep was also banned.

Meanwhile, livestock officials would monitor the supply of goat milk twice a day for two weeks to ensure its safety.
 
Blood samples were also randomly collected from 12,000 goats raised in the province to trace the bacteria's origin.