Shiloh
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Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160605/ne...bug-hiding-under-another-identity-196374.html
Melioidosis: A deadly bug hiding under another identity
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Health officials sound warning in the aftermath of floods and landslides
It is a bug which is a ?great mimic? that can very easily lead doctors up the garden path to a different diagnosis ultimately ending in death.
Ideal conditions for an upsurge in Melioidosis. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Hiding under the guise of Leptospirosis or Rat Fever, it rises rapidly from muddy and watery soil not only during the monsoons but also disasters such as the floods and landslides Sri Lanka has been experiencing in recent times. It can also mimic tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia.
Beware of Melioidosis caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei.
The alarm bells about this infectious disease ? which has a high death (mortality) rate ? spreading in Sri Lanka after the recent floods and also with the onset of the monsoon, are being sounded by Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at the Medical Faculty, University of Colombo, Dr. Enoka Corea, who has delved deep to research this bug.
?With early identification of Melioidosis, the patients can be treated effectively and deaths prevented,? she says, pointing out that the mortality rate is a shockingly high 1 in 4 among those stricken by this disease. This is way higher than the number of lives that Leptospirosis or Dengue claims.
The data speak for themselves. In 2011 ? 6 cases had been confirmed; in 2012 ? 5; in 2013 ? 10; in 2014 ? 23; in 2015 ? 65; and from January to May 2016 ? 28.
?While there has been an ?exponential? rise in cases in recent times, in the five months of this year alone, 6 deaths have occurred due to Melioidosis,? points out Dr. Corea underscoring the gravity of the situation. Last year, after heavy rains lashed Batticaloa, followed by flooding, 10 cases of Melioidosis were reported with four deaths. ?A young mother and a girl just after sitting her Advanced Level exam were among the four who died,? she laments...
Melioidosis: A deadly bug hiding under another identity
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Health officials sound warning in the aftermath of floods and landslides
It is a bug which is a ?great mimic? that can very easily lead doctors up the garden path to a different diagnosis ultimately ending in death.
Ideal conditions for an upsurge in Melioidosis. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Hiding under the guise of Leptospirosis or Rat Fever, it rises rapidly from muddy and watery soil not only during the monsoons but also disasters such as the floods and landslides Sri Lanka has been experiencing in recent times. It can also mimic tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia.
Beware of Melioidosis caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei.
The alarm bells about this infectious disease ? which has a high death (mortality) rate ? spreading in Sri Lanka after the recent floods and also with the onset of the monsoon, are being sounded by Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at the Medical Faculty, University of Colombo, Dr. Enoka Corea, who has delved deep to research this bug.
?With early identification of Melioidosis, the patients can be treated effectively and deaths prevented,? she says, pointing out that the mortality rate is a shockingly high 1 in 4 among those stricken by this disease. This is way higher than the number of lives that Leptospirosis or Dengue claims.
The data speak for themselves. In 2011 ? 6 cases had been confirmed; in 2012 ? 5; in 2013 ? 10; in 2014 ? 23; in 2015 ? 65; and from January to May 2016 ? 28.
?While there has been an ?exponential? rise in cases in recent times, in the five months of this year alone, 6 deaths have occurred due to Melioidosis,? points out Dr. Corea underscoring the gravity of the situation. Last year, after heavy rains lashed Batticaloa, followed by flooding, 10 cases of Melioidosis were reported with four deaths. ?A young mother and a girl just after sitting her Advanced Level exam were among the four who died,? she laments...