It's time for strawberries to hit the market
Strawberries in Chang'an District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
It is a national geographical indication for agricultural products
However, in recent days
The "don't eat strawberries" content is going viral
The reason is that "eating strawberries can cause bleeding fever"
Rumors have cost the berries a lot
Since the first two days, in the exchange group of strawberry growers in Xi'an's Chang'an District, some people have forwarded relevant videos to remind everyone to "don't eat strawberries". The content also includes some screenshots of WeChat group chats, saying: "All the hospitals in Xi'an city that are designated to treat hemorrhagic fever are full" "Strawberry greenhouses are full of black rats, which will be prone to hemorrhagic fever, so you must not buy strawberries to eat."
It is the season when the first strawberries in the area are on the market, and rumors have caused heavy losses to local berries.
Luo Dadi, a large strawberry grower in Xi'an's Chang'an District, said in an interview with reporters: "This rumor has made our berry farmers in Chang'an District miserable. (Hemorrhagic fever) is a local endemic disease that has nothing to do with strawberries. ”
What exactly is hemorrhagic fever?
Sun Yahui, deputy chief physician of the Xi'an Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that hemorrhagic fever in renal syndrome, also known as epidemic hemorrhagic fever, is a natural epidemic disease caused by the spread of hantavirus carried by rodents. Hemorrhagic fever is clinically characterized by fever, bleeding, and renal injury, and severe ones can lead to death. Hemorrhagic fever occurs in the early stages of the disease, such as fever and headache, which is similar to a cold.
It is understood that since the first case of hemorrhagic fever was detected in Xi'an, it has always been a peak city for the incidence of hemorrhagic fever. There are two peaks of hemorrhagic fever every year, a large peak called Autumn-Winter Peak appears from October to January of the following year, and a small peak called Spring Peak occurs from April to June (or May to July).
The Xi'an Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a related article on "preventing hemorrhagic fever" to remind the public to do a good job in prevention
Zhao Yingren, director and chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said that because of the heavy rainfall, the number of patients has increased overall compared with previous years.
In addition, some experts said that the onset of hemorrhagic fever is urgent, the progress is rapid, and there is a certain case fatality rate in patients with severe disease, but from the data in recent years, the overall case fatality rate is not high. According to Xu Jinghang, deputy chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Peking University First Hospital, the annual data of the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention shows that the total number of people reporting epidemic haemorrhagic fever in 2020 is 8121, of which 48 are sick and dead, and the case fatality rate is about 1/200.
In addition, Xu Jinghang said that in terms of contagiousness, the risk of direct contact transmission by the crowd is very small. "We have also treated patients with this epidemic of hemorrhagic fever in our wards before, and we do not need to strictly isolate themselves from patients. It is not the kind of disease that spreads from person to person, and the main source of the disease is rodents. ”
Is there a direct link between hemorrhagic fever and eating strawberries?
In this regard, Xu Jinghang said that if the food is eaten after being contaminated with the virus, there will be a certain risk, "but if the strawberries are clean and clean, there is no virus pollution, there will be no problem."
Technical experts from the agricultural department of Chang'an District, Xi'an, told the Voice of China that in recent years, rats have not been very many in the local area, and there is more rain this autumn, which has a certain impact on the living environment of rats, but it is not directly into the strawberry field, and it may be found in the field. This year, the government department has invested a lot of money in the prevention and control of rats, and all kinds of growers have been issued sticky rat boards, rat poison, rat clips and so on for prevention and control. At the same time, the agricultural department of Chang'an District has carried out special risk monitoring of strawberries, and no pesticide residues have been found to exceed the standard.
Map of a recent strawberry greenhouse provided by a local berry farmer
Luo Dada, a big strawberry grower, said that the berry farmers themselves will also carry out rat infestation prevention and control from the beginning of strawberry blossoming: "Everyone plants strawberries very hard, and they also attach great importance to the first stubble fruit. Basically, most of the berry farmers live in the field, and every year when there are small fruits after flowering, they will organize rat extermination activities, which is the first thing we have to do. Now to be honest, rats rarely eat fruit, they mainly eat grain, so we basically don't see rats in the shed. ”
Vaccinations, food and sanitation
Helps prevent hemorrhagic fever
Xu Jinghang suggested that in the daily life of general urban residents, food, environment and personal hygiene can be done; if in high-incidence areas, relevant vaccines can be vaccinated to prevent diseases. "Food is kept in an airtight container and cooked as much as possible if it can be heated; pay attention to maintaining the hygiene of the home environment. If you really want to go to some high-incidence environments, wear a mask and wash your hands in time. Finally, there is also a vaccine for hemorrhagic fever, which can increase the body's immunity to the hemorrhagic fever virus by injecting the vaccine. ”
Berry farmers in Xi'an's Chang'an District told reporters on the 19th that because rumors directly linked hemorrhagic fever to strawberries, their current sales have been greatly affected, and many people have called the police, "(The police) have filed a case and are investigating this matter." ”
The reporter found that some short videos that had been widely disseminated before had also been deleted.
Source: Synthesized from the Voice of China (zgzs001)