melioidosis
Sign in to saveAlso known as Tsunami lung, Melioidosis, unspecified (disorder), Nightcliff gardener's disease, Pseudoglanders, Pseudoglanders (disorder), Whitmore's disease, acute and fulminating melioidosis, subacute and chronic melioidosis
Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a gram-negative bacterium called Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most people exposed to B. pseudomallei experience no symptoms, but complications can range from fever and skin changes to pneumonia, abscesses, and septic shock, which can be fatal. Approximately 10% of people with melioidosis develop symptoms that last longer than two months, termed "chronic melioidosis".
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Melioidosis
- Medical condition.image
- One of the melioidosis abscesses on the abdomen.jpg
- Medical condition.image_size
- 220px
- Medical condition.caption
- Melioidosis abscess on the abdomen
- Medical condition.symptoms
- None, fever, pneumonia, multiple abscesses
- Medical condition.complications
- Encephalomyelitis, septic shock, acute pyelonephritis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis
- Medical condition.onset
- 1–21 days after exposure
- Medical condition.causes
- Burkholderia pseudomallei spread by contact to soil or water
- Medical condition.risks
- Diabetes mellitus, thalassaemia, alcoholism, chronic kidney disease
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Growing the bacteria in culture mediums
- Medical condition.differential
- Tuberculosis
- Medical condition.prevention
- Prevention from exposure to contaminated water, antibiotic prophylaxis
- Medical condition.treatment
- Ceftazidime, meropenem, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
- Medical condition.frequency
- 165,000 people per year
- Medical condition.deaths
- 89,000 people per year
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
4,031 papers- Melioidosis.Lancet (London, England) · 2003
- Melioidosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei : progress in epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and vaccination.Current opinion in infectious diseases · 2022
- Melioidosis: Emerging beyond endemic areas.Nursing · 2022
- Melioidosis.The New England journal of medicine · 2012
- Melioidosis.Current opinion in infectious diseases · 2002
via PubMed
~51 min read
Encyclopedic overview
31 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Acute
- Chronic
- Latent
- Cause
- Bacteria
- Transmission
- Pathogenesis
- Diagnosis
- Culture
- Hematological and biochemical tests
- Serological tests
- Microscopy
- Imaging
- Prevention
- Antibiotic prophylaxis
- Vaccination
- Treatment
- Intensive phase
- Eradication phase
- Surgery
- Others
- Prognosis
- Epidemiology
- Geography
- Age, risk factors
- History
- Synonyms
- Biological warfare
- References
- External links
Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a gram-negative bacterium called Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most people exposed to B. pseudomallei experience no symptoms, but complications can range from fever and skin changes to pneumonia, abscesses, and septic shock, which can be fatal. Approximately 10% of people with melioidosis develop symptoms that last longer than two months, termed "chronic melioidosis".
Prior to the Vietnam war less than a handful of patients had diagnosed in the United States in the twentieth century. In 1966, Spotnitz discovered that a number of servicemen with delayed onset of pulmonary infections had previously been deployed in Vietnam. Spotnitz coined the term "Vietnam Time Bomb" to highlight the fact that B. pseudomallei could remain dormant for years. The term gained traction as subsequent studies revealed latent infections in Vietnam veterans with estimates suggesting up to 250,000 U.S. soldiers were exposed. Spotnitz was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by President Lyndon Johnson at a White House ceremony.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “melioidosis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.