China's Ministries of Health and Agriculture are closely monitoring the series of swine virus infections that has so far claimed 19 lives and left another 17 people critically ill in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The ministries have reported the situation to the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and health authorities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday.

A preliminary probe showed that the as-yet unknown infections were caused by a kind of swine virus, Streptococosis II.

By Monday, the province had a reported 80 cases of infection, including 67 confirmed and 13 suspected cases. 19 people have so far been reported dead and 17 are in critical condition. Four have been discharged from hospital, according to the MOH.

Victims were from 75 villages in 40 townships in cities and counties including Ziyang City, Jianyang City, Lezhi County and Zizhong County in Neijiang City.

All had had direct contact with ill or dead pigs before showing symptoms of infection, experts said.

The patients first reported symptoms of fever, weakness and sickness, and then got symptoms of endemic bleeding and shock. Their white blood cell counts also soared as the infection set in.

Infection numbers continue to rise but cases are dispersed in with no obvious signs of epidemic-type infections. No evidence has been found that the disease can spread among human beings, the MOH said.

Swine streptococosis was first discovered in the 1950s and has been reported in many countries including France, Denmark, the United States and Canada.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2005)

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2005)