Burkholderia pseudomallei - Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine

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Jan 11, 2016 - 550 melioidosis cases have occurred during the last ten years, of ... ingestion of B. pseudomallei contaminated water are also important ... makers to help determine the allocation of the limited resources ... an ensemble model of 2,500 global realizations of these incidence ... 15 (6–45) ..... Am. J. Trop. Med.
LETTERS PUBLISHED: 11 JANUARY 2016 | ARTICLE NUMBER: 15008 | DOI: 10.1038/NMICROBIOL.2015.8

Predicted global distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei and burden of melioidosis Direk Limmathurotsakul1,2,3*, Nick Golding1, David A. B. Dance4,5, Jane P. Messina6, David M. Pigott1, Catherine L. Moyes1, Dionne B. Rolim7, Eric Bertherat8, Nicholas P. J. Day2,5, Sharon J. Peacock2,9,10 and Simon I. Hay1,11,12 Burkholderia pseudomallei, a highly pathogenic bacterium that causes melioidosis, is commonly found in soil in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia1,2. Melioidosis can be difficult to diagnose due to its diverse clinical manifestations and the inadequacy of conventional bacterial identification methods3. The bacterium is intrinsically resistant to a wide range of antimicrobials, and treatment with ineffective antimicrobials may result in case fatality rates (CFRs) exceeding 70%4,5. The importation of infected animals has, in the past, spread melioidosis to non-endemic areas6,7. The global distribution of B. pseudomallei and the burden of melioidosis, however, remain poorly understood. Here, we map documented human and animal cases and the presence of environmental B. pseudomallei and combine this in a formal modelling framework8–10 to estimate the global burden of melioidosis. We estimate there to be 165,000 (95% credible interval 68,000–412,000) human melioidosis cases per year worldwide, from which 89,000 (36,000–227,000) people die. Our estimates suggest that melioidosis is severely underreported in the 45 countries in which it is known to be endemic and that melioidosis is probably endemic in a further 34 countries that have never reported the disease. The large numbers of estimated cases and fatalities emphasize that the disease warrants renewed attention from public health officials and policy makers. Melioidosis is a disease of public health importance in areas of Southeast Asia and Australia, and is considered a potential emerging infectious disease in many tropical developing countries11. In northeast Thailand, there are around 2,000 culture-confirmed melioidosis cases per year, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 40%12. In Singapore, 550 melioidosis cases have occurred during the last ten years, of which a fifth resulted in death13. Skin inoculation is considered the main route of infection in agricultural workers in developing countries14. Recent evidence also suggests that inhalation of Burkholderia pseudomallei during extreme weather events15,16 and ingestion of B. pseudomallei contaminated water are also important routes of infection17. High-risk groups include patients with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and excessive alcohol intake12,18. Developed countries are also observing an emergence of melioidosis related to travelling and importation of cases11. No licensed vaccine for melioidosis is currently available. Strengthening of microbiological laboratories and research facilities often results in the discovery of

B. pseudomallei in new areas, with recent national additions including India, southern China, Brazil and Malawi11,19. Given diagnostic limitations3, it is likely that B. pseudomallei is present in many other tropical countries but has not yet been detected. The importation of infected humans and animals could lead to the establishment of B. pseudomallei in previously unaffected areas because the organism can be released to and persist in the environment. Previous importation events to non-endemic regions include an outbreak of melioidosis in 1975 in Paris, resulting in the deaths of two humans and an unknown number of animals6,7. B. pseudomallei then persisted in the soil for up to six years6. A recent outbreak of melioidosis in a non-endemic area occurred at Tulane Primate Research Center, Louisiana, USA, in November 201420. The results of a Center for Disease Control investigation concluded that the organism had spread from a building where mice were being infected experimentally to primates within the facility, possibly through contamination of the inner garments worn by staff20. It is, however, not yet known whether B. pseudomallei could have contaminated and persisted in the environment in Louisiana. Knowledge about the global burden of melioidosis and its potential to become established in non-endemic areas is poor. Previous maps of melioidosis simply displayed countries that had reported melioidosis cases11 and therefore provided no information on areas where melioidosis could be endemic but undiagnosed. In addition, earlier maps could not estimate the global morbidity and mortality of melioidosis11, which are essential for policy makers to help determine the allocation of the limited resources available for public health. Finally, previous maps could not determine the level of risk of B. pseudomallei establishment in the event that the organism was released in non-endemic areas. Here, we present the first evidence-based predicted map of B. pseudomallei and estimate the total incidence and mortality due to melioidosis worldwide for 2015 (Supplementary Figs 1–3). A globally comprehensive database has been compiled, comprising 22,338 geo-located records of human and animal melioidosis, as well as the presence of environmental B. pseudomallei from reports published from 1910 to 2014 (Supplementary Fig. 4). We assessed the strength of evidence for melioidosis endemicity at a national level, ranging from complete consensus on absence to complete consensus on presence (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Methods). A boosted regression tree (BRT) statistical model was used to estimate

1 Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK. 2 Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. 3 Department of Tropical Hygiene, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. 4 Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Vientiane, Lao PDR. 5 Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK. 6 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. 7 Universidade de Fortaleza, Fortaleza 60811-905, Brazil. 8 Department of Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva 27, Switzerland. 9 Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK. 10 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK. 11 Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98121, USA. 12 Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-2220, USA. *e-mail: [email protected]

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LETTERS

NATURE MICROBIOLOGY

DOI: 10.1038/NMICROBIOL.2015.8

Evidence consensus Complete (presence) Good Moderate Poor Indeterminate Poor Moderate Good Complete (absence) Melioidosis occurrences

Figure 1 | Global evidence consensus and geographic locations of occurrence data from 1910 to 2014. Country colouring is based on evidence-based consensus, with green representing a complete consensus on absence of B. pseudomallei and red a complete consensus on presence of B. pseudomallei. Black dots represent geo-located records of melioidosis cases or presence of B. pseudomallei.

Table 1 | Estimated burden of melioidosis in 2015, by continent.

South Asia East Asia and Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America and Caribbean Middle East and North Africa Europe and Central Asia North America

Population at risk Millions (credible interval) 1,525 (1,402–1,595) 858 (795–920) 602 (482–695) 246 (153–334) 49 (29–80) 0 0

Melioidosis cases Thousands (credible interval) 73 (31–171) 65 (28–161) 24 (8–72) 2 (1–7)