Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health Warning people to avoid eating raw or undercooked pork, as you risk getting sick with ear fever, which can cause permanent deafness or death. Especially at-risk groups Ready to recommend ways to prevent it. By eating cooked food Do not use raw and cooked cutting boards together. Do not touch raw pork and blood with bare hands.
Dr. Opas Karikawinpong Director-General of the Department of Disease Control said that cooking food to eat together as a family or group of friends. If the pork that is butchered in the village is eaten raw or undercooked, such as larb, raw pork luu, which is a local food that is mixed with raw pork blood. or the grill is not cooked properly which is at risk of contracting ear fever or the infectious disease Streptococcus suis, which can cause permanent deafness or death.
Situation of ear fever in Thailand
As for the situation of ear fever, from 1 Jan. – 7 Feb. ’21, 17 patients were found, 1 person died. Most of the patients were in the elderly and working age group, including 55-64 years of age. Followed by those aged 45-54 years and those older than 65 years, respectively. The region with the most patients is the Northern Region (12 patients, accounting for 71 percent of all patients), the province with the 5 highest rates of illness. The first are Lampang, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Phayao and Chanthaburi, respectively.
What is ear fever?
Ear fever is caused by bacteria. Streptococcus suis. This virus is found in the respiratory tract of pigs. and in the blood of sick pigs Can be contacted in 2 ways:
- Caused by consuming raw or undercooked meat and pork blood.
- Contact with infected pigs, including pork, entrails, and infected pig blood By contacting people through wounds Scratches on the body or conjunctiva where infection is present
Symptoms of ear fever
After eating pork Or come in contact with the blood of a sick pig for 3-5 days, the patient will have a high fever. severe headache Dizziness to the point of being unable to balance, vomiting, stiff neck, deafness, diarrhea, muscle aches. If found to have such symptoms Please see a doctor immediately. And inform about the history of eating raw pork and coming into contact with pork. Because if you see a doctor and get a diagnosis quickly It will help reduce the incidence of deafness and death.
Group at risk for ear fever
People in the risk group include:
- chronic alcoholic
- People with congenital diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, heart disease
- People who have had their spleen removed
etc.
If infected, people will become seriously ill because the ทางเข้า ufabet body has low immunity to disease.
How to prevent ear fever
Dr. Opas Suggested ways to prevent ear fever :
- You should consume freshly cooked food, especially pork.
- You should buy pork from fresh markets or department stores. that has passed the standard inspection from the Department of Livestock Development
- Do not buy pork that has a fishy smell and is dark in color.
- If eating grilled pork, grilled pork, always cook it first.
- You should use a personal serving spoon. Separate equipment used to pick up raw and cooked pork.
- Do not use raw and cooked cutting boards together. In addition to preventing ear fever, it is also preventing COVID -19.
- Do not touch raw pork and blood with bare hands. Especially pig farmers
- People who work in slaughterhouses People who butcher pork, animal husbandry, and veterinarians should wear rubber boots, gloves, and tight-fitting shirts while working.
- If there is a wound, the wound must be completely covered. And wash your hands after every contact with pigs.
- Importantly, during this period there is an outbreak of COVID -19 . People are asked to follow COVID-19 prevention measures. strictly By wearing a cloth mask or hygienic mask 100%, washing hands frequently and keeping distance between people.