Children with melioidosis in Far North Queensland are commonly bacteraemic and have a high case fatality rate

Authors

  • Simon Smith Department of Medicine, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia; James Cook University Clinical School, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
  • James D Stewart Monash Health and Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria
  • Catherine Tacon Department of Intensive Care, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
  • Neil Archer James Cook University Clinical School, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
  • Josh Hanson Department of Medicine, Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia; Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2017.41.42

Keywords:

tropical medicine, melioidosis, paediatrics

Abstract

Paediatric melioidosis is uncommon in Northern Australia. In the Northern Territory, children with melioidosis often report an inoculation event and localised skin and soft tissue infections predominate. However, in Far North Queensland, children with melioidosis are frequently bacteraemic and have a high case fatality rate. To confirm this observation, all culture-confirmed cases of Burkholderia pseudomallei processed at Cairns Hospital between 1998 and March 2017 were reviewed. During the study period, B. pseudomallei was isolated from 223 people; ten (4%) were children (aged from three days to 14 years). Bacteraemia occurred in 6/10 (60%) children compared with 161/213 (76%) adults (p=0.24). The primary diagnosis was localised, cutaneous disease in three children, meningoencephalitis in two and pneumonia in two. Three had bacteraemia with no primary source evident. No child had a parotid abscess or liver abscess. Five children (50%) died, and all of whom were bacteraemic.

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References

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Published

01/12/17

How to Cite

Smith, Simon, James D Stewart, Catherine Tacon, Neil Archer, and Josh Hanson. 2017. “Children With Melioidosis in Far North Queensland Are Commonly Bacteraemic and Have a High Case Fatality Rate”. Communicable Diseases Intelligence 41 (December):318-21. https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2017.41.42.

Issue

Vol. 41 (2017)

Section

Short report

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