Melioidosis

From Felipedia

A DSH cat infected with B. pseudomallei. Note the increased size of the globe, the pupillary dilation, cloudy cornea and hyphaema (blood clot in anterior chamber)

Melioidosis is a bacterial infection caused by the soil bacteria Burkholderia pseudomellei.

B. pseudomellei is a gram-negative bacillus endemic to northern Australia, South-East Asia, Papua New Guinea and South America. It is commonly responsible for lung abscesses in humans who work in cane/rice fields. It has been reported in animals; cattle, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, dogs and cats^[1].

It is a rare disease in cats and the main method of infection is via penetrating wounds, inhalation, ingestion, milk transmission in neonates. The bacteria can affect any organ and clinical signs range from ulcerated skin lesions, chronic subcutaneous abscesses which need to be differentiated from Mycobacterium spp infections, to abscess in the lungs/liver/kidney/eye/brain, and chronic pneumonia and acute fulminant septicaemia.

The bacteria have been reported to reside within macrophages and in humans, may lie dormant for many years before recrudescence.

Treatment requires long-term therapy with intracellularly-active antibiotics such as doxycycline, chloramphenicol or sulfonamides.

References

1. ↑ Parkes et al (2009) Primary ocular melioidosis due to a single genotype of Burkholderia pseudomallei in two cats from Arnhem Land in the Northern Terriotry of Australia. JFMS 11: 856-863