The public health significance of finding autochthonous melioidosis cases in the continental United States

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023 Aug 24;17(8):e0011550. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011550. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Recently, the pathogen that causes melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, was found in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi, United States of America, associated with human cases and as bacteria in the soil of affected areas. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the pathogen as endemic in the continental United States for the first time. This viewpoint discusses some issues that the research, public health communities, and government agencies need to address.

MeSH terms

  • Burkholderia pseudomallei*
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
  • Humans
  • Melioidosis* / epidemiology
  • Public Health
  • Soil
  • United States / epidemiology

Substances

  • Soil

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.