Symptoms of melioidosis include fever, joint pain, and headache. It can cause pneumonia, abscess formation and various infections.
US health authorities announced today that soil and water samples from Mississippi have detected bacteria that cause a rare and serious disease, melioidosis.
The competent authorities have advised the country’s doctors to be alert to possible symptoms of the infection in patients.
Two residents in the southern US states, in the Gulf of Mexico region, were infected in 2020 and 2022, prompting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts to conduct sampling.
The bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei was detected in three samples.
However, the CDC considers the risk to the population to remain “very low.” Currently, they are investigating how widespread these bacteria are in the environment.
Symptoms of melioidosis include fever, joint pain, and headache. It can cause pneumonia, abscess formation and various infections. Globally, melioidosis is fatal in 10-50% of cases.
Those in the so-called vulnerable population groups in Mississippi are advised to avoid contact with dirty water, protect any wounds and wear waterproof boots and gloves when gardening.
About 12 cases of melioidosis are reported each year in the United States, mostly in travelers returning from countries where the bacterium is endemic (including mainly India and other Southeast Asian countries), especially in tropical areas. Some outbreaks have also been attributed to imported products from these countries.
RES-EMP
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