Melioidosis in New Caledonia: a dominant strain in a transmission hotspot

• Published in: Epidemiology and infection Vol. 144; no. 6; pp. 1330 - 1337
• Main Authors: MELOT, B., COLOT, J., LACASSIN, F., TARDIEU, S., LAPISARDI, E., MAYO, M., PRICE, E. P., SAROVICH, D. S., CURRIE, B. J., GOARANT, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.04.2016; Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Subjects: Abscesses; Alcoholism; Bacteremia - epidemiology; Bacteremia - microbiology; Bacteremia - transmission; Bacterial infections; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Burkholderia pseudomallei; Burkholderia pseudomallei - genetics; Burkholderia pseudomallei - physiology; Diabetes; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - metabolism; Epidemiology; Fatalities; Female; Horses; Human health and pathology; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences; Male; melioidosis; Melioidosis - epidemiology; Melioidosis - microbiology; Melioidosis - transmission; Middle Aged; molecular epidemiology; Multilocus Sequence Typing; New Caledonia - epidemiology; Original Papers; Phylogeny; Pneumonia; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Tuberculosis; New Caledonia; Australia; Thailand; United States > US; ISEW, Pacific, New Caledonia; ISEW, Southeast Asia; molecular epidemiology; Epidemiology; melioidosis
• ISSN: 0950-2688; 1469-4409
• DOI: 10.1017/S0950268815002770

Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium endemic in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. In New Caledonia, sporadic cases were first described in 2005; since then, more cases have been identified. To improve our understanding of melioidosis epidemiology in New Caledonia, we compared the local cases and B. pseudomallei isolates with those from endemic areas. Nineteen melioidosis cases have been diagnosed in New Caledonia since 1999, mostly severe and with frequent bacteraemia, leading to three (16%) fatalities. All but one occurred in the North Province. Besides sporadic cases caused by non-clonal strains, we also identified a hotspot of transmission related to a clonal group of B. pseudomallei that is phylogenetically related to Australian strains.