Melioidosis fatalities increase

As the death toll of a North Queensland melioidosis outbreak continues to climb, GPs in all areas of the country have been warned to look out for the disease, especially among those who have travelled to the region.
 
According to the latest data from Queensland Health, since the beginning of the year until 17 February, 69 cases have been reported.
 
Most cases have been from those living in the Cairns and Hinterland (59%) and Townsville (29%) Hospital and Health Service areas.
 
This represents a more than three-fold increase in notified cases compared with the same period last year.
 
The Northern Territory Government has also warned its healthcare professionals to look out for the disease, as since the beginning of the wet season on 1 October 2024, 28 cases of melioidosis have been notified.
 
The surge follows devastating flooding in North Queensland this month, which saw hundreds of residents seeking safety in evacuation centres and up to 600 mm of rain falling in some areas.

Melioidosis has varied presentations, including skin infections, where a break in the skin combines with exposure to mud or floodwaters. 
 
Respiratory presentations are also common, with symptoms triggered by airborne bacteria churned up from soil following heavy rains.
 
For North Queensland GP Dr Aileen Traves, diagnoses of melioidosis in her area are ‘no surprise’, however she said it is unfortunate to see such high case numbers.
 
‘It is something that we know is coming in the wet season most years … obviously, the numbers go up really significantly whenever there’s any sort of localised flooding,’ she told newsGP.
 
With highways and airports closed for prolonged periods following the flooding, Dr Traves said many who have been stuck in North Queensland are now travelling and ‘may well pop up outside of North Queensland’.
 
She encourages colleagues around Australia to keep melioidosis on their radar.
 
‘GPs up in our region are very aware of it … but others in non-endemic areas may be less aware,’ Dr Traves said.
 
‘That’s where it gets missed a lot, because people don’t even consider it as a possibility, and then obviously present late and quite sick sometimes.
 
‘Hopefully, if we thought about it a bit earlier, we might have been able to get treatment started a bit earlier, before they were really unwell.’
 
Dr Traves added that with floodwaters and mud stagnating for weeks, GPs are urged to remind their patients to take precautions.
 
‘People are out there because they’re trying to save property … and don’t realise the risks that poses,’ she said.
 
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