A dangerous pathogen has infected four people in the United States

A highly dangerous bacterium called Burkholderia pseudomallei infected four people in the United States between March and July of this year, he writes. live sciences In the wake of 24 h. The U.S. Office of Epidemiology (CDC) documented the four cases in Georgia, Kansas, Texas, and Minnesota, and while this disease tends to occur in tropical countries, it is a particularly interesting fact that none of those infected were overseas before the disease. . Two patients reportedly died and the other two required lengthy hospital treatment.

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The pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes chlamydia, is most common in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, but is found naturally only in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, outside the United States.

In the United States, approximately a dozen cases of melioidosis are reported each year and are almost always detected in those who have visited affected areas. Genetic studies revealed that the four individuals had very similar strains that caused the disease, indicating that the pathogen had spread to humans from a similar source. Experts suspect that patients are infected through imported products such as food, drink or detergents.

The first symptoms of Burkholderia pseudomallei appear a few weeks after infection, which does not make it easy to determine the source of the bacteria. Melasma can cause various complaints: In current patients, they have been associated with cough, shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever and rash. Two patients had a risk factor that increased the risk of infection, but the other two were not aware of this. One of those infected was a young girl, barely four years old, who was on a ventilator and had suffered permanent brain damage from the bacteria.