Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Alert Network
The Georgia Department of Public Health, with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is investigating a fatal case of Burkholderia pseudomallei infection (i.e., melioidosis) identified in late July 2021. Based on genomic analysis, this case in Georgia closely matches the three cases previously identified in Kansas, Minnesota, and Texas in 2021, indicating they all most likely share a common source of exposure. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the Texas Department of State Health Services continue to investigate the three previous cases with assistance from the CDC.
The four cases include both children and adults. Two cases are female, and two cases are male. The first case, which was fatal, was identified in March 2021 in Kansas. The second and third cases, both identified in May 2021 in Minnesota and Texas, were hospitalized for extended periods of time before being discharged to transitional care facilities. The most recent case died in the hospital and was identified post-mortem in late July 2021 in Georgia. None of the cases had a history of traveling outside of the continental United States.
Symptoms of melioidosis are varied and nonspecific, and may include pneumonia, abscess formation, and blood infections. Due to its nonspecific symptoms, melioidosis can initially be mistaken for other diseases such as tuberculosis, which can delay proper treatment. B. pseudomallei may also be misidentified by some automated identification methods in laboratory settings.
This Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update serves as an update to HAN Health Advisory Multistate Investigation of Non-Travel Associated Burkholderia Pseudomallei Infections (Melioidosis) in Three Patients: Kansas, Texas, and Minnesota—2021 that the CDC issued on June 30.
- Contact your local health department if you have any questions or suspect a patient may be infected with Burkholderia pseudomallei.
- Visit the CDC website or call CDC-INFO at 800.232.4636
- Call the CDC 24/7 Emergency Operations Center at 770.488.7100
- Contact the CDC Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch by sending an email to bspb@cdc.gov or calling 404.639.1711.