Bulgaria Starts Thorough Vet, Med Checks in Brucellosis-Hit Village

Politics | August 20, 2007, Monday // 00:00

All the cattle and the people from the Bulgarian village of Vulcho Pole, where a woman fell ill with the dangerous illness brucellosis, will undergo thorough medical checks and blood analyses, the state radio reported Monday.

The medical checks will allow the specialists eventually to track down where the highly contagious bacteria came from.

A 65-year-old woman from the southern Bulgarian village was taken to hospital on Sunday. Later in the day doctors said she was infected with brucellosis.

Quarantine was imposed on the village and exports of meat and milk are banned.

All cattle infected with the bacteria will be killed and incinerated to prevent the spreading of the disease.

There is still no final conclusion on how the bacteria were introduced to the village. Some veterinarians say it might have been brought to Valcho Pole by travelling Roma people, who visit the village frequently together with their horses. Another hypothesis is that brucellosis was brought to the place by people from the village, who often travel to Greece, where cases of brucellosis-infected animals are common.

The husband of the infected woman on the other hand claimed his wife was bitten by a blood-sucking fly some days ago and this caused the infection as the fly had probably sucked the blood of an infected animal before that.

This is the first time in sixty years that an outbreak of the dangerous disease is detected in Bulgaria and the third case of infected Bulgarians - two Bulgarians, who contracted brucellosis while working in Greece, died in 2005.

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria of the genus Brucella. These bacteria are primarily passed among animals and causes them to miscarry.

Humans become infected by coming in contact with animals or animal products that are contaminated with these bacteria. In humans brucellosis can cause a range of symptoms that are similar to the flu and may include fever, sweats, headaches, back pains, and physical weakness. Severe infections of the central nervous systems or lining of the heart may occur. Brucellosis can also cause long-lasting or chronic symptoms that include recurrent fevers, joint pain, and fatigue.

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