Brucellosis Outbreak in China Worsening as Disease Spreads to Farms

A herdsman pastures sheep in Xilinhot of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, on Aug. 8, 2006. Xilinhot, located in the middle of Xilin Gol Grassland, one of China's largest prairies, is the economic and cultural center of Xilin Gol League, a livestock production base in northern China. As the Xilin Gol Grassland has suffered severe sand-encroachment and desertification, the government has implemented a project to save grassland, which encloses grazing land and relocates herdsmen and livestock from the prairie, according to state media. China Photos/Getty Images

More cases of the bacterial brucellosis disease were reported in China’s Gansu Province, Shaanxi Province, and Inner Mongolia in recent days.

The initial outbreak began in July last year, according to authorities, after a biopharmaceutical company allowed the bacteria to leak out during vaccine production.