BEIJING, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A recent outbreak of Streptococcus suis, or pig flu, in China reportedly sickened 215 humans, 39 of whom died, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
China's Ministry of Health said no new cases of the pig flu have been reported since Aug. 5.
WHO officials said data provided by China depict an outbreak that peaked from the second through the fourth week of July, and dwindled rapidly thereafter. Authorities say several human cases were discovered retrospectively, once the epidemiological investigation was underway.
The initial cases were suspected of having hemorrhagic fever, but laboratory tests subsequently confirmed infection with Streptococcus suis serotype 2, the WHO reported.
Nearly all patients were reported to be local farmers and butchers, about 80 percent of them men, who had been killing, processing or selling meat from sick pigs.
Chinese authorities said they found no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and no healthcare workers tending to the patients have been infected.
