PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (Aug 2023)

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

  • Alfredo G Torres

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011550
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 8
p. e0011550

Abstract

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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.