Greater co-operation by the Ministry of Health of China with the World Health Organisation (WHO), has seen a sharing of more details about the outbreak of swine flu in China.
The WHO gathered together a group of international specialists on Streptococcus suis (swine flu), and they have made an assessment, based on the information provided by the Ministry of Health, that the current outbreak in humans is very likely Streptococcus suis.
According to the Ministry of Health in China, there have been 215 reported cases of the human disease associated with this outbreak, and 39 of these have been fatal.
Apparently no new cases have been reported since 5 August.
The data provided by China describes an outbreak that peaked from the second through the fourth week of July, and then rapidly dwindled.
Officials say several human cases were discovered later, once the epidemiological investigation had begun.
It was initially suspected that the early cases were of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, but laboratory tests ruled that out.
As more cases were reported, with a range of symptoms such as high fever, malaise, nausea and vomiting, followed by meningitis, subcutaneous haemorrhage, toxic shock and coma in severe cases, that diagnosis was questioned; particularly as almost all of the patients were reported to be local farmers and butchers by profession, and mainly male.
All had been either killing sick pigs or processing and selling the meat, and more than 40 percent of the cases were aged between 50 to 60 years.
Subsequent tests confirmed the infection was Streptococcus suis serotype 2 and was also discovered in pigs in the area.
Authorities confirm that so far there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and no healthcare workers tending to the patients have been infected.