Melioidosis, caused by , is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease endemic to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It is typically acquired through contact with contaminated soil or fresh water. Before this investigation, was not known to have been isolated from the environment in the continental United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBurkholderia thailandensis, an opportunistic pathogen found in the environment, is a bacterium closely related to B. pseudomallei, the cause of melioidosis. Human B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacillus anthracis has traditionally been considered the etiologic agent of anthrax. However, anthrax-like illness has been documented in welders and other metal workers infected with Bacillus cereus group spp. harboring pXO1 virulence genes that produce anthrax toxins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Anthrax is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. Humans acquire cutaneous infection through contact with infected animals or animal products. On May 6, 2018, three cows suddenly died on a farm in Kiruhura District.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelioidosis is an underreported human disease of tropical and sub-tropical regions caused by the saprophyte Burkholderia pseudomallei. Although most global melioidosis cases are reported from tropical regions in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, there are multiple occurrences from sub-tropical regions, including the United States (U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnthrax has been feared for its high mortality in animals and humans for centuries. The etiologic agent is considered a potentially devastating bioweapon, and since 1876-when Robert Koch demonstrated that Bacillus anthracis caused anthrax-it has been considered the sole cause of the disease. Anthrax is, however, a toxin-mediated disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerological assays for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies must be validated for performance with a large panel of clinical specimens. Most existing assays utilize a single antigen target and may be subject to reduced diagnostic specificity. This study evaluated a multiplex assay that detects antibodies to three SARS-CoV-2 targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInhalational anthrax is a fatal infectious disease. Rapid and effective treatment is critically dependent on early and accurate diagnosis. Blood culture followed by identification and confirmation may take days to provide clinically relevant information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelioidosis, caused by the bacterium is an uncommon infection that is typically associated with exposure to soil and water in tropical and subtropical environments. It is rarely diagnosed in the continental United States. Patients with melioidosis in the United States commonly report travel to regions where melioidosis is endemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNearly all cases of melioidosis in the continental United States are related to international travel to areas to which Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis, is endemic. We report the diagnosis and clinical course of melioidosis in a patient from the United States who had no international travel history and the public health investigation to determine the source of exposure. We tested environmental samples collected from the patient's home for B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a Gram-negative bacterium that causes the sapronotic disease melioidosis. An outbreak in 2003 in the state of Ceara, Brazil, resulted in subsequent surveillance and environmental sampling which led to the recognition of as an endemic pathogen in that area. From 2003 to 2015, 24 clinical and 12 environmental isolates were collected across Ceara along with one from the state of Alagoas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the Caribbean is poorly understood. We isolated B. pseudomallei from US Virgin Islands soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrediction models indicate that melioidosis may be common in parts of East Africa, but there are few empiric data. We evaluated the prevalence of melioidosis among patients presenting with fever to hospitals in Tanzania. Patients with fever were enrolled at two referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, during 2007-2008, 2012-2014, and 2016-2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo our knowledge, environmental isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, from the continental United States has not been reported. We report a case of melioidosis in a Texas resident. Genomic analysis indicated that the isolate groups with B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman anthrax cases necessitate rapid response. We completed Bacillus anthracis nanopore whole-genome sequencing in our high-containment laboratory from a human anthrax isolate hours after receipt. The de novo assembled genome showed no evidence of known antimicrobial resistance genes or introduced plasmid(s).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom 2015 to 2017, 11 confirmed brucellosis cases were reported in New York City, leading to 10 exposure risk events ( events) in 7 clinical laboratories (CLs). Most patients had traveled to countries where brucellosis is endemic and presented with histories and findings consistent with brucellosis. CLs were not notified that specimens might yield a hazardous organism, as the clinicians did not consider brucellosis until they were notified that bacteremia with was suspected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report 2 cases of melioidosis in women with diabetes admitted to an emergency department in the US Virgin Islands during October 2017. These cases emerged after Hurricanes Irma and Maria and did not have a definitively identified source. Poor outcomes were observed when septicemia and pulmonary involvement were present.
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