Hai PhongA 42-year-old man with a dull headache, fever, and hearing loss was examined and found to be positive for Streptococcus suis (swine streptococcus).
The patient said he often ate fermented pork rolls and rare pork. A week before being admitted to the hospital, he had a dull headache, accompanied by a high fever, and a brain scan did not detect any abnormalities. The doctor ordered a lumbar puncture for testing, which was positive for Streptococcus suis (swine streptococcus).
On April 19, doctors from the Department of Tropical Diseases, Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital, said that the patient was infected with streptococcus due to the habit of eating raw, undercooked food. In addition to high fever and headache, the patient has hearing loss in the left ear.
After two weeks of treatment, symptoms subsided and hearing improved slightly.
Meningitis caused by swine streptococcus is very dangerous, with many serious complications. Among them, hearing loss is a common complication, greatly affecting quality of life.
Meningitis begins with symptoms such as high fever with chills; headache; nausea and vomiting; muscle pain. The disease causes serious complications such as muscle spasms (especially stiffness in the nape of the neck), consciousness disorders (delirium, drowsiness), irritability, even coma, and tremors in the limbs. Some people lose hearing, develop skin rashes like petechiae, and may have necrosis of fingers and toes.
Doctors recommend that people choose to buy pork that has been inspected by veterinary authorities, with clear origins, and avoid buying meat that is unusually red in color, bleeding or edematous. Do not slaughter or eat sick pork of unknown origin. Eat cooked food and drink boiled food, do not eat dead pork, do not eat undercooked dishes, especially pork blood pudding and fermented pork roll during the epidemic.
Keep processing utensils in a clean place, wash hands and processing utensils after contacting and processing pork. Use separate utensils for preparing raw and cooked meat.