The death toll of the pig-borne endemic in southwest China's Sichuan Province reached 34 as of 12 AM Saturday, according to the Chinese Ministry of Health.

The province has reported 174 cases of swine streptococosis II. Among them, 123 were confirmed cases and 51 suspected ones, said the ministry in a latest report.

Twelve people have been discharged from hospital and 28 others are in critical condition.

Cases were also reported from Wednesday to Saturday in cities of Chengdu, Zigong, Suining, Luzhou and Mianyang, all in southwestern Sichuan Province, totaling 26.

The endemic broke out in late June in cities and counties including Ziyang City, Jianyang City, Lezhi County and Zizhong County in Neijiang City. All the patients had direct contact with ill or dead pigs.

The Center for Health Protection in Hong Kong said Saturday that another Streptococcus suis infection involving an 84-year-old man had been confirmed.

The man, who lived in Sau Mau Ping, developed fever and right knee pain and was admitted to United Christian Hospital on June 16. He is now in stable condition.

The health authority said the two cases of Streptococcus suis in Hong Kong were not related with the outbreak in Sichuan Province.

People are advised to always observe personal and environmental hygiene and to avoid contact with pigs. The health center called people to take strict measures if the contact is necessary.

The Hong Kong government Saturday called on slaughtering staff and the food industry to take precautionary measures against Streptococcus suis.

Acting Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food, Eddy Chan said on radio that the current measures on pork handling taken in Hong Kong in response to the Sichuan outbreak are appropriate.

He said the government will closely monitor the incident in Sichuan as the fatality rate there is much higher than expected.

Since most of the mainland patients contracted the disease through direct contact with live pigs, Chan urged workers who need to handle pork to strictly follow the working procedures and observe personal hygiene.

Chan said Hong Kong's chance of being affected by the Streptococcus suis outbreak was slim because Hong Kong imports frozen pork but not live pigs from Sichuan province and frozen pork is unlikely to carry the disease when thoroughly cooked.

At 6:00 PM Sunday, the first batch of vaccines for streptococcus swine type II was delivered by air to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province from Guangzhou.

According to the Yongshun Biomedical Company in Guangdong province, about 160 boxes of such vaccines, enough for 350,000 pigs, will be delivered to Sichuan in the first batch.

Still larger quantities of such vaccines are being produced, the source said, adding that vaccines for 10 million pigs will be carried to the epidemic-afflicted areas.

According to directions of the vaccines, pigs should be given two injections of such vaccines within 15 days, which will promise an immunization period of above 4 months.

It is the first massive production of the vaccines for streptococcus swine type II in China, and experts from the Ministry of Agriculture has monitored the whole process of production.

Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture demanded that the actual use of the vaccines be guided by the local expert group in light of the concrete situation.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2005)