Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is rare but ecologically established and widely dispersed in the environment in Puerto Rico.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil-dwelling bacterium and the causative agent of melioidosis. The global burden and distribution of melioidosis is poorly understood, including in the Caribbean. B. pseudomallei was previously isolated from humans and soil in eastern Puerto Rico but the abundance and distribution of B. pseudomallei in Puerto Rico as a whole has not been thoroughly investigated.

Methodology/principal findings

We collected 600 environmental samples (500 soil and 100 water) from 60 sites around Puerto Rico. We identified B. pseudomallei by isolating it via culturing and/or using PCR to detect its DNA within complex DNA extracts. Only three adjacent soil samples from one site were positive for B. pseudomallei with PCR; we obtained 55 isolates from two

SUBMITTER: Hall CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6748447 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature