Academic literature on the topic 'Whitmore Bacillus'

Introduction: Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore disease, is caused by the gram-negative bacillus, Burkholderia pseudomallei and remains a public health concern in Southeast Asia and northern parts of Australia. This study attempts to identify all possible complications of melioidosis and its outcomes. Methods: Literature search was conducted from databases such as PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus from 1st January 2000 to 31st August 2019. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) search strategy was used with the terms ‘Melioidosis’ or ‘Burkholderia pseudomallei’ and ‘Complications’. Results: A total of 162 titles were identified and 22 articles were included in the review. Findings showed that among the 22 articles, the ratio of male to female melioidosis incidence was 2.3 to 1, with most cases (86.4%) aged older than 14 years old and showed a mean age of 46 years old. A third (7/22) of the papers reported the involvement of the nervous system as a complication of melioidosis followed by cardiovascular complications. Among the 23 cases reported, 13 had underlying medical conditions with most of them (84.6%) having diabetes mellitus or newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Overall, only one case (4.3%) had resulted in mortality, while 17.4% developed complications and 78.3% managed a full recovery after undergoing treatment for melioidosis. Conclusion: The most commonly found complication of melioidosis involved the nervous system but patient outcomes were favourable. Rare complications included mycotic aneurysm that can be fatal. Melioidosis can affect almost any organ leading to various complications.

Prevalent in many pharmaceuticals, dyes, and herbicides, N‐heterocyclic aromatic compounds have recently been recognized as environmental contaminants of emerging concern. Understanding microbial degradation of N‐heteroaromatics may inform bioremediation efforts to remove or neutralize these contaminants. Nicotinic acid (NA, vitamin B3) is considered a model compound, and consequently, studying bacterial catabolism of NA may help elucidate the degradation of N‐heteroaromatics as a whole. In this study, we investigated nicotinate dehydrogenase (NDH) and 6‐hydroxynicotinate dehydrogenase (6‐HDH) from Bacillus niacini, an aerobic soil bacterium. These enzymes hydroxylate NA and 6‐hydroxynicotinic acid (6‐HNA), respectively, catalyzing the first two steps of NA catabolism. To accomplish this chemistry, computational predictions suggest that NDH and 6‐HDH each contain two [2Fe‐2S] clusters, a molydopterin cytosine dinucleotide (MCD), and a FAD coenzyme. The subunits of these enzymes were purified from E. coli and analyzed for their respective cofactors. The [2Fe‐2S] cluster subunit was found to contain 3.9 mol of iron, and the FAD subunit was visibly yellow and found to contain FAD as predicted. In the purified molybdenum subunits, preliminary investigations suggest a 1:10 occupancy of MCD. In order to increase this occupancy, ongoing studies are using Pseudomonas strains as the recombinant host.Support or Funding InformationAcknowledgments: Whitmore‐Williams Science Scholarship, the Clare Boothe Luce Program, and the Department of Chemistry at The College of Wooster

Melioidosis or Whitmore's disease is an infection of humans and animals caused by aerobic gram negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei. This infection with a wide clinical spectrum is predominantly present in tropical climates, mainly Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The clinical manifestations include pneumonia, skin ulcers or abscesses, osteomyelitis, prostatitis, encephalomyelitis and fulminant septic shock. The denitive diagnosis is made by a positive culture of Burkholderia pseudomallei. The bacteria is innately resistant to 6 classes of commonly used antibiotics. CDC recommends an intensive phase of intravenous antibiotics for 10 to 14 days followed by eradication therapy with oral antibiotics for 3 – 6 months. The intravenous agents effective against the bacteria are meropenem and ceftazidime. Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid are the oral antimicrobial agents used. Here we present two cases of Melioidosis, at opposite ends of the spectrum with varying antibiotic response. One patient is a young non immunocompromised female and the second an elderly immunocompromised (T2DM) male, both presented with skeletal melioidosis.

Burkholderia pseudomallei est l'agent pathogène responsable de la mélioïdose, une infection opportuniste. Elle est endémique en Asie du Sud, en Asie du Sud-Est et dans le Nord de l'Australie. En 2015, le nombre de cas annuels de mélioïdose était estimé à 165 000 dans le monde. Cette bactérie a la capacité d'infecter l'homme et les animaux par inhalation, ingestion ou contact cutané. Depuis plusieurs années, des cas humains de mélioïdose sont signalés en dehors des zones endémiques connues, notamment dans la région Antilles-Guyane. Depuis 1993, vingt cas humains de mélioïdose ont été recensés en Martinique et cinq en Guadeloupe. Des enquêtes épidémiologiques ont révélé que de nombreux patients n'avaient jamais voyagé dans des zones endémiques, suggérant une contamination locale. L'objectif de cette thèse était de confirmer l'implantation locale de B. pseudomallei dans la région Antilles-Guyane, en utilisant une approche « Une seule santé » qui étudie l'homme, l'animal et l'environnement. À cette fin, une collecte exhaustive des cas humains a été réalisée, accompagnée d'enquêtes sérologiques chez les animaux et d'enquêtes environnementales. En parallèle, un outil de typage moléculaire a été développé pour prédire la provenance géographique des souches isolées.Une revue de la littérature et des entretiens avec les cliniciens ont été menés pour recenser les cas humains. Les analyses sérologiques ont été effectuées à l'aide d'un kit ELISA-GLANDA. Deux types d'enquêtes environnementales ont été menées : des enquêtes ciblées dans les élevages présentant des animaux séropositifs et des enquêtes aléatoires en Guadeloupe et aux Saintes.Le recensement des cas humains a permis d'identifier vingt cas publiés dans la littérature, auxquels s'ajoutent cinq cas supplémentaires suite à des entretiens avec les cliniciens. L'enquête sérologique a révélé la présence d'animaux séropositifs sur tous les territoires, suggérant une présence locale de la bactérie, avec des taux de séroprévalence plus élevés chez les équins (24%) et les bovins (16%) en Guyane, chez les équins (9%) en Martinique et chez les caprins (39%) aux Saintes. Les enquêtes environnementales ciblées dans les élevages aux Saintes ont permis d'isoler une souche de B. pseudomallei, tandis que les enquêtes aléatoires en Guadeloupe et aux Saintes ont révélé des sols positifs en PCR, confirmant ainsi la présence locale de la bactérie.Cette thèse représente la première étude de ce type réalisée dans la région Antilles-Guyane. La mise en place d'une approche « Une seule santé » a permis d'obtenir des données préliminaires sur la présence de B. pseudomallei dans cette région. Ce projet constitue une première étape vers d'autres initiatives. Pour confirmer la présence de B. pseudomallei en Martinique et en Guyane, il est nécessaire de mener des enquêtes environnementales dans les élevages où des animaux séropositifs ont été identifiés. De plus, de nouvelles recherches pourraient être entreprises en Guadeloupe pour caractériser les types de sols où la présence de B. pseudomallei a été détectée, enrichissant ainsi la littérature scientifique. Cette étude souligne la possibilité d'appliquer une approche interdisciplinaire basé sur concept « Une seule santé » pour mieux comprendre la répartition d'autres bactéries environnementales pathogènes
Burkholderia pseudomallei is the pathogen responsible for melioidosis, an opportunistic infection. It is endemic in South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia. This bacterium is capable of infecting humans and animals through inhalation, ingestion or skin contact and in 2015, the number of annual global burden of melioidosis was estimated at 165,000. Human cases of melioidosis have been reported outside known endemic areas, notably in the Antilles-Guyane region. Since 1993, twenty human cases of melioidosis have been recorded in Martinique and five in Guadeloupe. Epidemiological investigations revealed that many of these patients had no history of travel to endemic areas, suggesting local contamination. The aim of this thesis was to confirm the local establishment of B. pseudomallei in the Antilles-Guyane region, using a "One Health" approach that studies humans, animals and the environment. To this end, an exhaustive search for human cases was implemented, accompanied by serological investigations in animals and environmental surveys. At the same time, a molecular typing tool was developed to predict the geographical origin of isolated strains.A literature review and interviews with clinicians were conducted to identify human cases. Animal serological analyses were carried out using an ELISA-GLANDA kit. Two types of environmental surveys were carried out: targeted surveys in farms with seropositive animals, and random surveys in Guadeloupe and Les Saintes.The survey of human cases identified twenty cases published in the literature, plus five additional cases based on interviews with clinicians. The serological survey revealed the presence of seropositive animals in all territories, suggesting a local presence of the bacterium, with higher seroprevalence rates among equines (24%) and cattle (16%) in French Guiana, equines (9%) in Martinique and goats (39%) in Les Saintes. Targeted environmental surveys on two goat farms in Les Saintes resulted in the isolation of one strain of B. pseudomallei, while random surveys in Guadeloupe and Les Saintes revealed PCR-positive soil, confirming the local presence of the bacterium.This thesis represents the first study of this type to be carried out in the Antilles-Guyane region. The implementation of an interdisciplinary "One Health" based approach has enabled us to obtain preliminary data on the presence of B. pseudomallei in this region and represents a first step towards other initiatives. To confirm the presence of B. pseudomallei in Martinique and French Guiana, it is necessary to carry out environmental surveys on farms where seropositive animals have been identified. In addition, new research could be undertaken in Guadeloupe to more finely characterize the types of soil where the presence of B. pseudomallei has been detected, thus enriching the scientific literature. This study highlights the interest of applying the "One Health" approach to better understanding the distribution of other pathogenic environmental bacteria