Abstract
Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, an endemic disease in tropical areas around the world. Cumulative human cases have demonstrated that melioidosis is prevalent and increasingly recognized in the American continent. Even though the first reports of melioidosis in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands date back to the late 1940s, the potential of the disease as a public health concern in the region has not been fully appreciated. Unfortunately, recent studies predicting the global distribution of the disease and the demonstration of melioidosis endemicity in Puerto Rico have not increased recognition of the disease by health professionals in this region. Furthermore, a lack of both diagnostic capacity and awareness of the disease has resulted in a limited number of studies that have attempted to accurately determine its prevalence and geographical distribution. In this review, a summary of reported cases in the countries of this region are presented, as well as recommendations to increase the diagnosis and awareness of the disease as an important public health problem in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.
Highlights
Melioidosis is an emerging, potentially fatal disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, which can be acquired through inoculation, inhalation, or ingestion
Melioidosis can be confused with pneumonia or tuberculosis, and the bacterium is resistant to a wide variety of antibiotics, while its pathogenic mechanismsare not completely understood
In addition to the high prevalence of diabetes (13.1% Mexico, 10.1% Central America, and 11.2% in The Caribbean) [8] and limited access to health care, this study suggested that melioidosis might be endemic in many countries of this region, but be significantly underreported
Summary
Melioidosis is an emerging, potentially fatal disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, which can be acquired through inoculation, inhalation, or ingestion. She was present when a hurricane hit the zone, and so had multiple risk factors for acquiring the disease Another important associated risk factor was reported in a 70-year-old smoker from Mexico with no history of travel to any other melioidosis-endemic area [51]. In 2015, the first case of melioidosis was reported in a northern state of Mexico (Sonora) in a 48-year-old male who presented with fever and a history of abscess in the right subscapular region with hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, but without pulmonary symptoms [52]. The recent increasing occurrence of melioidosis in patients with no travel history outside Mexico indicates that B. pseudomallei is endemic, mainly in tropical regions of the country. Due to the lack of advanced diagnostic methods, melioidosis remains an underdiagnosed disease in this country
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