Man dies after two hours in hospital after contracting streptococcus suis

The patient had suffered from gout for many years and was rushed to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital on August 26 with a high fever, severe difficulty breathing, and purple spots all over his body. The initial diagnosis was septic shock and he was monitored for sepsis. The doctor prescribed IV fluids, blood cultures, antibiotics, endotracheal intubation, and exploratory tests.

On August 28, Dr. Nguyen Tien Thanh, Department of Emergency and Intensive Care, said the patient's condition was very serious, with unresponsive cardiovascular collapse. Two hours after admission, the patient's heart and breathing stopped. Doctors performed CPR for an hour but the patient did not survive.

According to the doctor, this is not the first time the hospital has received a case of toxic shock, but it is a case of severe progression and sudden death. Therefore, the team has not yet been able to investigate and determine the cause of the man's infection.

Two days later, the patient's blood culture tested positive for Streptococus suis, with unknown circumstances of infection.

According to the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health), Streptococcus suis is a disease transmitted from animals to humans, there is no evidence of the disease being transmitted from person to person. Most cases are related to slaughtering, eating raw blood pudding or uncooked foods such as nem chao, nem chua. However, some cases do not eat blood pudding or slaughter pigs but still get sick. The cause is eating raw infected pork, or coming into contact with sick pigs through skin lesions and scratches during processing.

People infected with Streptococcus suis can develop sepsis, purulent meningitis, or a combination of both. Depending on the type, the disease can progress to mild or severe, with some cases being severely infected from the start. Some subjects, especially those with immunodeficiency, are at high risk of death.

The mortality rate from streptococcal infection is about 7%. If the patient survives, the rate of sequelae is also very high, about 40%.

The incubation period can be from a few hours to 4-5 days, depending on each person's constitution. Symptoms include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea but not frequent, easily mistaken for common digestive disorders and food poisoning. Patients also have headaches, tinnitus, deafness, stiff neck, lethargy, and necrotic rashes on the skin due to sepsis and purulent meningitis.

To prevent disease, people should not slaughter sick or dead pigs, and should not handle raw pork with bare hands, especially if there are wounds on the hands. Gloves should be worn when handling raw or undercooked pork, and hands should be washed thoroughly after handling meat.