Mystery illness kills 17 Chinese farmers

A mystery disease that killed 17 farmers who handled sick pigs or sheep in China’s south west is unrelated to bird flu or SARS and is probably caused by bacteria carried by pigs, state media reported today.

Another 41 people in the south-western province of Sichuan were taken to hospital with symptoms that include high fever, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and “became comatose later with bruises under the skin,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.