More than 3,000 people have contracted an illness in northwestern China after bacteria leaked in 2019 from a biopharmaceutical plant producing animal vaccines, authorities said.
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Brucellosis is a disease transmitted by livestock or animal products.
It is generally not contagious between humans.
But it can cause fevers, joint pain, and headaches.
A total of 3,245 people have tested positive for the bacteria, a figure established from tests since the incident, according to health authorities in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.
They specified that no case of human-to-human transmission has been observed.
A public laboratory in the city used an expired disinfectant in July-August 2019 in the production of anti-brucellosis vaccines for animals, authorities said on Tuesday.
Consequence: The sterilization was incomplete and the bacteria were still present in the gas emissions of the company - the Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Plant for breeding animals.
This contaminated gas spread through the air to the nearby Veterinary Research Institute, where it had infected nearly 200 people last December.
The Lanzhou Health Bureau said on Friday that the bacteria usually come from sheep, cattle or pigs.
The laboratory had apologized this year and had its authorization to produce vaccines against brucellosis withdrawn.
The patients will receive financial compensation from October, according to the authorities in Lanzhou.