The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning of a deadly bacteria that has been declared endemic to the US Gulf Coast and that could have fatal outcomes if not treated.
“Burkholderia pseudomallei is an environmental organism that lives naturally in the soil, and typically freshwater in certain areas around the world, mostly in subtropical and tropical climates,” said CDC's Julia Petras.
At least three cases were confirmed in Mississippi but given that the bacteria don't develop symptoms, more cases go unnoticed.
“This is one of those diseases that is also called the great mimicker because it can look like a lot of different things,” Petras said. “It's greatly under-reported and under-diagnosed and under-recognized. We often like to say that it's been the neglected, neglected tropical disease.”
The expert said that the germs enter through open wounds or inhalation and attack the lungs and brain and organs with abscesses.
“A lot of patients will have pneumonia with sepsis, and or sepsis, which is associated with higher mortality and worse outcomes,” she added.
If diagnosed early, the melioidosis infection caused by the bacteria can be efficiently treated through extensive antibiotic treatment.
