Burkholderia Pseudomallei Bacteria Found for the First Time in the US

According to a CDC health alert, Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium that causes melioidosis, was found in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, making it the first reported case of the bacteria in the US.

Melioidosis, sometimes called Whitmore’s disease, is an infectious disease that comes from B. pseudomallei in soil or water. Based on data from the CDC, the disease is typically found in tropical climates such as southeast Asia and northern Australia.

According to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) through the NIH, common symptoms of this disease are pneumonia, acute infectious pneumonia, lung abscesses, respiratory tract infections, sepsis, and shock.

While most melioidosis cases are acute, about 9% of patients develop chronic cases, which often present like chronic tuberculosis. Furthermore, the CDC suggests that up to 50% of cases can be fatal.

People with diabetes, liver, renal disease, thalassemia, cancer, and chronic lung disease are at increased risk of developing the disease.

Before this discovery, only 12 cases in the US were reported to the CDC each year.

According to the CDC Health Alert, “the two melioidosis patients that led to this discovery were unrelated to each other but lived in close geographical proximity to each other in the Gulf Coast region of southern Mississippi. Both had no recent travel outside of the United States. They were diagnosed with melioidosis two years apart in July 2020 and May 2022.”

Both patients had the same strain of the infection.

Diagnosis of melioidosis is made through bacterial culture. Once confirmed, “treatment of melioidosis requires long-term antibiotic therapy (acute phase followed by eradication phase),” states the CDC Health Alert.

The alert also cautions clinicians to learn about and become well-versed in the disease. In addition, physicians near the Gulf Coast are advised to consider this condition when examining patients.

While providers are typically safe from the transmission, they must follow recommended precautions. Additionally, since lab tests can aerosolize the bacterium, physicians have been asked to inform lab personnel of the potential presence of B. pseudomallei.

As the CDC and public health organizations continue to monitor the spread of bacteria, the public should remain vigilant of the disease depending on their risk and consider implementing preventative strategies.