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Four people in the United States have mysteriously fallen ill with a rare and sometimes fatal bacterial disease that is typically only seen in other countries with tropical climates, health officials say. Yet none of these patients had traveled outside the country.
The four cases, which were identified between March and July, occurred in Georgia, Kansas, Texas and Minnesota, according to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two of the patients died and two were hospitalized for long periods. The first death occurred in Kansas in March and the second death occurred last month in Georgia.
The patients were all diagnosed with melioidosis, a disease caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The bacteria thrives in tropical climates and is most commonly seen in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The only places in the United States where this bacteria is found naturally are Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, According to the CDC.
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In the United States, only a dozen cases of melioidosis are identified each year, and those cases almost always involve people who have traveled to places where the disease occurs naturally, according to the CDC. This is why the current cases, which are unrelated to the recent history of international travel, are so unusual, the statement said.
Health officials are now trying to figure out how these people got infected. They tested more than 100 product, soil and water samples in and around patients’ homes, but nothing came to light, the statement said.
Genetic testing revealed that the bacterial strains infecting these four patients are very similar to each other, suggesting a common source for the infections, the statement said. The CDC suspects that the patients were infected with an imported product, such as a food, drink, personal care or cleaning product. After people are exposed to Burkholderia pseudomallei, it can take several weeks before they get sick, which can make it difficult for health officials to identify the source of the illness.
Melioidosis can cause a wide range of symptoms. In the current cases, symptoms ranged from cough and shortness of breath to weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, intermittent fever and rashes on the trunk, abdomen and face, a the CDC said in a statement. alert to doctors on the cases.
Two of the patients had conditions known to increase their risk of infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cirrhosis (liver disease), the CDC said. But the other two patients had no known risk factors.
Among those infected is a 4-year-old boy in Texas who fell ill in May. The child, Lylah Baker, spent a month in the intensive care unit at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, according to The morning news from Dallas. She had to be placed on a ventilator and suffered brain damage, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“She was a typical healthy little girl about to start kindergarten in the fall – no underlying health issues before. I don’t want to say anything,” said Ashley Kennon, the child’s aunt. , at the Dallas Morning News. “So it was definitely a major surprise for anyone not knowing where [the bacteria] comes from. ”Lylah is now receiving treatment at Our Children’s House Dallas, which provides transitional care to children after they are hospitalized but before they return home, reported the Dallas Morning News.
The CDC has alerted doctors to be on the lookout for cases of melioidosis and to consider this diagnosis even in patients who have not traveled outside of the United States.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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