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Hong Kong health officials It reported another confirmed case of catastrophic disease in the past week (November 26-December 2), bringing the total cases to 38 in 2022.
The case is of a 70-year-old diabetic woman who lives on On Chau Street in Chung Sha Wan. She has had dizziness and fever since November 17. She went to the accident and emergency department of Caritas Medical Center on November 19 and was admitted on the same day. Her clinical diagnosis was a chest infection. She remains in the hospital and her current condition is stable.
Her sputum sample was confirmed positive for Burkholderia pseudomallei by the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch of the Ministry of Health. A member of her family had confirmed schizophrenia in mid-September this year. Since the incubation period for chlamydia can be up to several months, the possibility that they were exposed to the same contaminated environment and infected earlier cannot be ruled out. The epidemiological investigation of this case is still ongoing.
Melasma (also known as Whitmore’s disease and night gardener’s disease) is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Although fairly rare, the disease has been seen in areas of southeast Asia and northern Australia, particularly after heavy rains. In Thailand it is considered illness of rice farmers.
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The organism is found saprophytic in soil and water. People usually become infected by contact with contaminated soil or water through skin cuts, inhalation, or rarely by swallowing contaminated water.
Person-to-person transmission can occur through contact with the blood and body fluids of an infected person.
Depending on the severity of the injury Incubation It can range from hours to weeks. infection may not appear symptoms But it can quickly develop into a metastatic disease involving the skin and a variety of organs.
Pneumonia from B. pseudomallei can be seen in either acute or chronic disease. Chronic pulmonary melioidosis may appear years after exposure and can mimic tuberculosis.
Death rates from melasma can reach 75 percent even with appropriate antibiotics treatment. Mortality is particularly greater in those with underlying conditions such as: diabetes or kidney disease.
