Confirmation of Rare Zoonotic Diseases According to the CDC
Zoonotic Diseases on the Rise: Tularemia and Brucellosis Cases Reported in Taiwan and China
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in both Taiwan and China confirmed the first cases of tularemia and brucellosis in several years. The cases serve as a reminder of the importance of taking precautions when dealing with animals and their environments, particularly in rural areas.
Tularemia: A Rare but Serious Disease
The first case of tularemia in three years was confirmed in a woman from southern Taiwan. She developed a fever and general weakness on July 12 and has since been discharged from the hospital. Whole-genome sequencing of bacteria from her blood cultures confirmed the diagnosis. Tularemia is often transmitted by handling infected wildlife, tick bites, or inhalation of contaminated dust or aerosols.
Investigations into her case found no evidence of travel abroad, outdoor activities, animal contact, pet ownership, or residence near high-risk areas during the incubation period. The woman has chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes, which may have contributed to her susceptibility to the disease.
Brucellosis: A Public Health Issue in China
In China's Xinjiang region, a man in his 50s was diagnosed with imported brucellosis. He had direct contact with goats and horses at a local market. Brucellosis primarily affects cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs and can be transmitted to humans through wounds or mucos membranes that come into contact with infected animals, or by consuming contaminated, unpasteurized dairy products.
Brucellosis remains a public health issue in China, particularly in rural areas where livestock husbandry is common. Prevention relies on improved animal vaccination and public health campaigns. Since brucellosis became a reportable disease in 2012, Taiwan has recorded only two imported cases, and no locally acquired cases have been reported.
Preventive Measures
To prevent zoonotic diseases like tularemia and brucellosis, it is essential to maintain strict hygiene, biosecurity measures, safe animal handling, environmental control, and personal protection. This includes washing hands thoroughly after animal contact, wearing gloves when handling animals, avoiding allowing animals to lick open wounds or faces, and supervising children closely to prevent risky contacts.
Environmental management should involve cleaning and disinfecting animal housing regularly, removing or controlling pests and wildlife that can carry disease, avoiding stagnant water or contaminated sources for animal drinking, and maintaining good ventilation and dry conditions. Biosecurity for livestock should include limiting farm access, disinfecting equipment and footwear, preventing contact between farm and wild animals, and isolating sick animals promptly.
Personal protection should involve using protective clothing, masks or respirators (particularly P2 masks) in high-risk situations, using insect repellents, and avoiding tick bites where applicable.
Conclusion
Untreated infections of either disease can cause severe, long-term complications in the genitourinary or nervous systems, or lead to endocarditis. For the most effective protection, individuals and workers in agriculture or wildlife exposure areas in Taiwan and China should integrate strict hygiene, protective equipment, biosecurity protocols, and public health guidance to prevent tularemia and brucellosis transmission.
- Maintaining good health and wellness, especially in rural areas of Taiwan and China, requires taking precautions when dealing with animals and their environments, especially when dealing with chronic diseases like the woman's chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes, which may have contributed to her susceptibility to tularemia.
- Preventing the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as tularemia and brucellosis in Taiwan and China necessitates focusing on strict hygiene, biosecurity measures, safe animal handling, environmental control, and personal protection, such as vaccinating animals and conducting public health campaigns to spread awareness about the diseases.
