Melioidosis in the Torres Strait Islands, Australia: Exquisite Interplay between Pathogen, Host, and Environment.

ABSTRACT: Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium that lives in the soil of the tropics, causes the disease melioidosis. This retrospective study investigated the temporospatial epidemiology of the 49 laboratory-confirmed melioidosis cases in the Torres Straits Islands of tropical Australia between 1997 and 2017. An identifiable risk factor for the disease was present in 43/49 (88%) cases and in 35/36 (97%) cases with complete clinical data. The mean incidence of melioidosis varied across the region, from 0/100,000 persons/year in the Eastern Island Cluster to 116.1/100,000 persons/year in the Near Western Island Cluster. An environmental suitability score for the growth of B. pseudomallei-constructed using the rainfall, vegetation, and soil type on each island-correlated with disease i

SUBMITTER: Hempenstall AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6402897 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature