This year’s rainy season has brought continuous downpours over the past few days and caused flooding in some areas, prompting the Centers for Disease Control （CDC） to urge people to take protective measures against melioidosis infection and avoid direct contact with dirty water or mud during post-flooding cleanup.
Taiwan is located in the subtropical area with high temperature and humidity, making it an ideal place for the growth of Burkholderia psedomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis. In 2005, after Taiwan was hit by two typhoons, a melioidosis outbreak took place in areas around the Erren River, leading to a total of 42 infections and 8 deaths. A cooperative study by CDC and Professor Yu-lei Chen from the Biomedical Department of National Kaohsiung Normal University on the geographic distribution of Burkholderia psedomallei isolated the bacterium from soil in many townships and villages in the Erren River Valley, Pingtung County, Taichung County and Chiayi County, suggesting that the bacterium is widely distributed in Taiwan.
The major transmission routes of melioidosis are direct contact with or inhalation of water and soil contaminated by Burkholderia psedomallei. People with weak immunity or chronic diseases such as diabetes, liver disease, chronic kidney disease, lung disease and cancer, are more susceptible to infection. The clinical representations of melioidosis are complicated, ranging from asymptomatic to localized skin ulcers, pneumonia, septicemia, shock and even death.
CDC urges people that during post-disaster cleanup of household environment, they should wear gloves, rubber shoes and masks and should wash their hands immediately afterwards. They should also seek prompt medical advice upon experiencing any discomfort. When patients suffering from diabetes or other chronic diseases show up with festered wounds and fever, the physician must be alert to the possibility of melioidosis and should immediately provide appropriate treatment.