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Along with the delta variant outbreaks, public health experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now grappling with new incidents of a rare tropical disease that has emerged in parts of the Americas.
Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, is a bacterial infection commonly found in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The bacteria that cause infection are usually found in contaminated water and soil and spread to animals and humans through contact with the contaminated source. Ingestion and contact with abrasions on the skin are the most common vectors of infection.
Recent genome sequencing at CDC headquarters in Atlanta confirms that four cases of melioidosis are in the United States, including two fatalities.
No other patient information has been released by the CDC. One case has been confirmed in Georgia and has been attributed to three previous cases in different states, namely Kansas, Texas and Minnesota.
After testing more than 100 soil and water samples near patients’ homes, none came back positive for the bacteria that causes melioidosis.
This leaves public health officials believing that the cause is most likely an imported product or an ingredient found in an import, such as a food, drink, cleaning product, or medicine.
In particular, it is rare to contract melioidosis from another person.
“Although healthy people can get melioidosis, underlying medical conditions can increase the risk of disease” the CDC wrote. “The main risk factors are diabetes, liver or kidney disease, chronic lung disease, cancer or another disease that weakens the immune system. “
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