Eating pork noodles made with raw-blood can lead to ear infections - or fatally - meningitis, a senior government doctor said yesterday.

Encephalitis lives in raw blood or uncooked pork. The recipe, better known as "nam tok" (waterfall) does not boil the blood, but merely warms it before it is mixed with soup.

Both diseases are highly infectious during the hot season.

Contraction is possible even if a fresh wound is exposed to fresh pork, said deputy public health minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul.

The bacterium can also cause infection in the ears and even the brain.

"Chronic ear infection can result in deafness and severe infection can lead to meningitis, which can be fatal if proper treatment is not administered within 14 days," he added.

Department of Disease Control deputy director-general Sirisak Warintharawat said cattle farmers were also vulnerable, while slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians were also at risk if exposed to pigs sickened with both diseases, he said.

They can also result in dizziness or sudden kidney failure within three days after contraction.

Daily Xpress

food for thought

>> Pork noodles made with raw blood can lead to ear infections or meningitis.

>> Both diseases are highly infectious during the hot season.

>> The diseases could be contracted even by exposing a fresh wound to fresh pork.