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Serious Disease with little awareness- Melioidosis

An old disease that present almost exclusively in tropical area such as South East Asia region has long been known with little awareness especially in countries where little can be done to growth the bug. It's known as a serious disease with high mortality rate once it get into your blood and cause systemic symptoms, Melioidosis, caused by a fancy named bug Burkholderia Pseudomalei. It is primarily found in soil and water of such area.

How dose the bug get into your body?
Humans get the infection by inhalation of contaminated dust or water droplets, ingestion of contaminated water, and contact with contaminated soil, especially through wounds on the skin.
Human to human transmission is very rare, and only a few cases have reported.

Where will it go in your body?
Once the bug gets into your body, it can affect almost every organ systems. However, mortality and morbidity varies between organs involved. The highest mortality rate occurs with systemic involvement such as sepsis (the bug is circulating in your blood) while local infection such as infection of your salivary gland without systemic involvement caused low mortality.

Signs and Symptoms:
Depending on where the infection is on your body, the clinical manifestations can be:
  • Fever
  • Swelling and pain
  • Abscess or ulceration
  • Cough and dyspnea
  • Headache
  • Anorexia
  • Lethargy
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