Eleven local cases of melioidosis were reported last week, all in southern Taiwan, where Typhoon Gaemi struck hardest late last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Immunocompromised people should be alert and seek medical attention immediately if they develop symptoms of the disease, the CDC said.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said 12 cases of melioidosis were reported last week — the 11 local cases and one imported case from Thailand.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Eight people in Kaohsiung, two in Tainan and one in Chiayi County contracted the disease, Lee said, adding that all of them had been hospitalized, with three in intensive care.
There have been 18 cases reported so far this year, the most for the same period since 2019, she said.
Most of the cases were reported after typhoons had affected Taiwan, she added.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that of the 11 local cases, 10 have chronic illnesses, while the other person has a record of alcoholism.
Of the three people in intensive care, one is a man in his 40s with alcohol use disorders who sought medical treatment for a fever, vomiting, chest tightness and jaundice, Lin said, adding that he was diagnosed with fulminant hepatitis, or acute liver failure.
The man went into shock during hospitalization, and was intubated and admitted to intensive care, with X-rays showing pneumonia and a blood test detecting the bacteria that causes melioidosis, Lin said.
The other two in intensive care are a man and a woman, both of whom are in their 70s and have underlying health conditions, he said.
Melioidosis is an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei bacteria, which are widely distributed in soil and water, Lin said.
People can get infected if they have open wounds that make direct contact with contaminated soil or water, but the bacteria can also enter the body through inhalation, especially after heavy rain and wind, he said.
Common symptoms of melioidosis include a fever, headaches, localized pain or swelling, ulcers, chest pain, coughing, including coughing up blood, swelling of regional lymph nodes and sepsis, he said.
However, some people might not have any symptoms, he said.
The mortality rate of melioidosis is 40 to 74 percent if left untreated, Lin said, adding that people with diabetes, chronic kidney, lung and liver diseases or cancer, as well as immunocompromised people, have a higher risk of developing severe illness from infection, so they should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they have suspected symptoms.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that cases of melioidosis usually increase after typhoons.
After typhoons Haitang and Talim brought heavy rain and winds in July and September 2005, 42 cases, including eight deaths, were reported, Lo said.
The 11 cases reported last week were from different areas in southern Taiwan, and the CDC expects cases reports to continue until the end of this month, as records show most cases are usually reported two to four weeks after a typhoon, he said.
The CDC yesterday again issued a notice to medical professionals across the country to raise the alert, and report and test suspected cases, he said.
Meanwhile, Lee said cases of COVID-19 and enterovirus infections have been falling.
However, the epidemic period for both has not yet ended and COVID-19 cases are still increasing in many countries, including Japan and the US, Lee added.
The spread of COVID-19 is slowing, but hospitalization numbers have not dropped as quickly as previously predicted, so the end of the epidemic period might be announced at the end of this month at the earliest, Lo said, adding that KP.3 has become the dominant variant of SARS.CoV.2 in local and imported cases.
As many people contracted the disease recently, infection-induced immunity is expected to last about three months, so the next wave might arrive between autumn and winter, he said, adding that new vaccines are scheduled to be available by October.
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