Abstract
We retrospectively estimated the incidence of culture-proven melioidosis in animals in Thailand during 2006–2010. The highest incidence was in goats (1.63/100,000/year), followed by incidence in pigs and cattle. The estimated incidence of melioidosis in humans in a given region paralleled that of melioidosis in goats.
Highlights
The Study A retrospective study was performed to collect data on all animals recorded to have died of melioidosis and the total number of livestock in Thailand during January 1, 2006–December 31, 2010
The cases of animal melioidosis in Thailand reported here probably underestimate actual cases because necropsies are performed on a small minority of animals that die of natural causes
We demonstrated that the estimated incidence of melioidosis in goats relative to other animals is high and might represent a substantial cause of economic loss for goat farmers
Summary
19.39 1.20 24.14 4.55 1.20 Unknown Unknown 0.35 Unknown Unknown Unknown and third highest incidence of goat melioidosis (Sakon Nakohn and Khon Kaen) were situated in the northeast, a region with the highest reported incidence of human melioidosis (1). The relative incidence of goat melioidosis was high in western and eastern Thailand, regions where human melioidosis is not considered endemic. No reports of human melioidosis in the west have been published, and the 1 report from the east described 78 blood culture–positive cases during 3 years in Sa Keao Province, from which an annual incidence rate was calculated of 4.9 per 100,000 persons (15). To further evaluate this finding, we contacted 4 provincial hospitals in eastern and western Thailand, where cases in animals were observed, to request information about the number of culture-confirmed melioidosis cases in humans. Our findings indicate that that the geographic area of Thailand affected by melioidosis is much greater than appreciated previously
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