More melioidosis cases
THREE more cases of melioidosis have been confirmed in North Queensland.
Townsville Public Health Unit acting director Dr Julie Mudd said all three people had at least one risk factor for melioidosis.
Two patients were in a stable condition in Townsville Hospital and another was in a serious condition in Mount Isa Hospital.
This brought the total number of confirmed cases related to the flooding event to 13, including the death of a Townsville woman in her 50s.
“Sadly, there has been one death from melioidosis during this flooding event which has been widely reported. There have been no further deaths,” Dr Mudd said.
She said people at high risk of contracting melioidosis were those with pre-existing health issues and the elderly.
“We are asking the com- munity to check on their neighbours; it is important,” she said.
“Check in on the elderly, sick or disabled and if they are unwell or have a fever call a doctor or an ambulance.”
Dr Mudd said it was vitally important people wore gloves and shoes during the flood clean-up to prevent infection.
“For those people who are more susceptible to these illnesses, we’ve consistently asked them to leave the cleanup to people who are fit and healthy,” she said.
Dr Mudd said as the soil dried the risk of contracting the disease would be very low.
Melioidosis rarely affected healthy adults and children, Townsville Hospital and Health Service said in a statement. Townsville Public Health Unit was expecting more cases as the incubation period for melioidosis could take weeks.
Associate Professor of Medicine at The Australian National University Sanjaya Senanayake said melioidosis typically caused illness during the wet season.
“Melioidosis is caused by a bacterium that lives in soil and water,” he said. “It is mostly found in the tropical regions of Australia and Asia.”
The infectious disease specialist said exposure often occurred through the skin but could also be inhaled, especially after storms and cyclones, or swallowed.
Prof Senanayake said people affected by melioidosis became sick after one to 21 days following exposure, with the most common form of disease caused by the bacteria being pneumonia, although it could affect any part of the body.