A deadly bacteria made the news recently when it was found in an aromatherapy room spray and linked to a deadly outbreak of melioidosis. A CDC probe recently found this dangerous bacteria known as Burkholderia pseudomallei in an aromatherapy room spray, which was subsequently recalled. The bacteria, which causes the fatal condition known as melioidosis, is endemic in certain subtropical climates but is typically only found in people in the United States when linked to travel to areas where the bacterium are naturally found.
Apichai Tuanyok Ph.D, a specialist in tropical diseases who studies the pathogen, discusses the risks and dangers associated with it.
A Dangerous Emerging Pathogen: Burkholderia Pseudomallei
Featuring:
Apichai Tuanyok, Ph.D.
Apichai Tuanyok, Ph.D. is a specialist in tropical diseases, specifically one known as Burkholderia mallei (also known as Glanders) and is working on a vaccine for it. He also is an expert in the Burkholderia pseudomallei – which is a genotype classification and is working on effective treatment and early diagnosis of melioidosis and its impact on Southeast Asia. Dr. Tuanyok has an international reputation as an excellent melioidosis researcher. This particular show will focus on melioidosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei as that is what has been in the news recently with the aromatherapy spray recalled from Walmart after a CDC probe discovered that the bacteria was present in the spray. Apichai Tuanyok - Emerging Pathogens Institute - University of Florida (ufl.edu). Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): A CDC probe recently found a dangerous bacteria known as Burkholderia pseudomallei in an aromatherapy room spray, which was subsequently recalled. The bacteria, which causes the fatal condition known as melioidosis is endemic in certain subtropical climates, but is typically found in people in the United States when linked to travel to areas where that bacteria are naturally found.
Welcome to UFC Vet Med Voice with the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. I'm Melanie Cole. And today, we're discussing a dangerous emerging pathogen that is also a potential biothreat agent. Joining me is Dr. Apichai Tuanyok. He's an Assistant Professor of infectious Disease and Immunology at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Tuanyok, thank you so much for joining us today for this fascinating podcast. Before we get into the topic, can you tell us just a little bit about yourself as a specialist in tropical disease?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Hi, Melanie. Happy to be here today. So myself, Apichai Tuanyok, Assistant Professor in Infectious Disease and Immunology at the College of Vet Med. So I'm originally from Thailand. I did my PhD in England in Tropical Medicine in year 2000. And after that, I devoted my entire career on the disease melioidosis for about 20 years now. I study most aspects of the disease, including the environmental aspect of the bacterium found in environment and about the disease and also in animals and the vaccine therapeutic development. I have been here for seven years.
Melanie Cole (Host): So interesting, Dr. Tuanyok. So what can you tell us about this deadly bacteria that made the news recently? As I said in my intro, it was found in an aromatherapy room spray. Tell us about this and what is melioidosis and this deadly bacterium?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Melioidosis is a serious tropical disease affecting humans and animals, wide variety of animal species. The disease is endemic in many tropical countries and regions. These include many Asian countries, most countries in the Pacific ocean and Northern Australia. The disease has been reported in many countries in south and central America as well as in the Caribbean.
The cause of the disease is a soil bacterium known as Burkholderia pseudomallei. The bacterium can be found in soil and fresh water in most tropical countries. It has been estimated that the probable fatality of the human cases is comparable to that from measle and substantially greater than those from dengue and leptospirosis.
Melioidosis is caused when the bacterium enters a person's body through cuts or skin lesion or inhaled with the contaminated dust or aerosol or consumed via contaminated food or water. And without treatment, the mortality rate of the disease can approach up to 90%. But with rapid response and proper antibiotics, the disease mortality can be reduced to 40% or less.
So this disease is not common here in the United States. Most of the time, the disease discovered here is related to the travel, either the US citizen travelled abroad and brought the disease back from overseas or from the foreigner who visits the United States. But most of the time, we observe the disease about like 10 or 12 cases a year related the travel.
Melanie Cole (Host): Wow. So interesting, doctor. And thank you for telling us about the risks and dangers associated with it and how people and animals can get this and the risk of exposure really. So you had a situation a few years ago working which touches on the same disease, but was written about how someone in your lab encountered a dog owner whose animal was infected with melioidosis and they worked together to develop a treatment protocol, which worked. Can you tell us about that?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Yeah, that's a very touching story. So, in that time, a couple of years ago, I sent a credit student to work in Thailand. And on that day in a local animal hospital in Southern Thailand, my student discovered a case of melioidosis in a dog. It's rare, because they don't diagnose melioidosis in pets or companion pets, dog or cat, but it has been reported in other countries like in Australia before.
So on that day, I received a phone call from my student and he wanted me to tell the treatment to treat the dog, because this disease in animals, there is no guideline how to treat the animal infected with this disease, even in Thailand where the disease is highly endemic and we came out with the plan how are we going to treat the dog. We used the human protocol to treat and the dog's alive and he's healthy. So that a touching story that we saved the dog from melioidosis for the first time. But most of the time, the veterinarian just puts the dog to sleep and that's all. But this one is the first case that we saved the dog,
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, thank you for sharing that story. And you were an author on a UCLA-led research that revealed potential treatments for deadly tropical diseases. Can you tell us about the collaboration that you had, Dr. Tuanyok?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: In that project, we received funding from the Department of Defense to try to find a good antimicrobial peptide that may be used to treat the disease melioidosis. The thing is, you know, this bacterium is resistant to most antibiotics, that it's difficult to find a proper antibiotic to treat the infection.
So this study, we work with UCLA. And our responsibility here at University of Florida, we developed the animal model, the mouse model to represent the infection. And then we used antimicrobial peptide to treat, and it worked very well. So that's something that we may consider to use in the future. So the name of this peptide is called burkfloxacin, burk, Burkholderia.
Melanie Cole (Host): So then tell us what you're doing right now, Dr. Tuanyok, and working on effective treatments or early diagnosis of melioidosis and its impact on Southeast Asia and other places. Tell us what you're doing right now.
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: So what we have been doing right now in the past seven years that I tried to develop the sovereign system that we can diagnose melioidosis in human and also in animal as well. That it my using the one hell aspect for that. So I travel to many tropical countries in Southeast Asia to collaborate with the universities there and also the local government to help them to diagnose melioidosis properly in humans and animals and help them to develop their local database. And then the database may be used in the future for the risk assessment about the disease in the region in Southeast Asia.
Melanie Cole (Host): Such important work that you're doing, Dr. Tuanyok. As we wrap up, can you please talk about the disease is not just a threat to humans, but to animals, and the risks to animals and humans, as far as exposure, how they get it, the risk of exposure? Wrap it all up for us, Dr. Tuanyok, and what you would like other providers to know about this deadly bacterium.
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: The bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, is not common here, that is the problem. So we need to raise awareness to the physicians and veterinarians. And in the same time, we need to find a way to diagnose the bacterium quickly. Another thing, that the other disease may come with the contamination like that you probably heard about the evidence that's associated with the product sold by Walmart, the household product, that it can have some type of contamination in products from overseas or contamination in the food product as well.
We caught the way that the disease can be contracted through three different routes of infection. One, that I mentioned earlier, through the cut or the wound infection. And the second is by inhalation. And the third from consuming of the contaminated food and water. So we need to be aware of about the disease. And we need a proper diagnostic technique and also the treatment to be available.
Melanie Cole (Host): Thank you so much, Dr. Tuanyok, for sharing your research and incredible expertise with us today. To listen to more podcasts from the experts at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, please visit vetmed.ufl.edu. That concludes today's episode of UF Vet Med Voice, brought to you by the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, advancing animal, human and environmental health. I'm Melanie Cole.
Melanie Cole (Host): A CDC probe recently found a dangerous bacteria known as Burkholderia pseudomallei in an aromatherapy room spray, which was subsequently recalled. The bacteria, which causes the fatal condition known as melioidosis is endemic in certain subtropical climates, but is typically found in people in the United States when linked to travel to areas where that bacteria are naturally found.
Welcome to UFC Vet Med Voice with the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. I'm Melanie Cole. And today, we're discussing a dangerous emerging pathogen that is also a potential biothreat agent. Joining me is Dr. Apichai Tuanyok. He's an Assistant Professor of infectious Disease and Immunology at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Tuanyok, thank you so much for joining us today for this fascinating podcast. Before we get into the topic, can you tell us just a little bit about yourself as a specialist in tropical disease?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Hi, Melanie. Happy to be here today. So myself, Apichai Tuanyok, Assistant Professor in Infectious Disease and Immunology at the College of Vet Med. So I'm originally from Thailand. I did my PhD in England in Tropical Medicine in year 2000. And after that, I devoted my entire career on the disease melioidosis for about 20 years now. I study most aspects of the disease, including the environmental aspect of the bacterium found in environment and about the disease and also in animals and the vaccine therapeutic development. I have been here for seven years.
Melanie Cole (Host): So interesting, Dr. Tuanyok. So what can you tell us about this deadly bacteria that made the news recently? As I said in my intro, it was found in an aromatherapy room spray. Tell us about this and what is melioidosis and this deadly bacterium?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Melioidosis is a serious tropical disease affecting humans and animals, wide variety of animal species. The disease is endemic in many tropical countries and regions. These include many Asian countries, most countries in the Pacific ocean and Northern Australia. The disease has been reported in many countries in south and central America as well as in the Caribbean.
The cause of the disease is a soil bacterium known as Burkholderia pseudomallei. The bacterium can be found in soil and fresh water in most tropical countries. It has been estimated that the probable fatality of the human cases is comparable to that from measle and substantially greater than those from dengue and leptospirosis.
Melioidosis is caused when the bacterium enters a person's body through cuts or skin lesion or inhaled with the contaminated dust or aerosol or consumed via contaminated food or water. And without treatment, the mortality rate of the disease can approach up to 90%. But with rapid response and proper antibiotics, the disease mortality can be reduced to 40% or less.
So this disease is not common here in the United States. Most of the time, the disease discovered here is related to the travel, either the US citizen travelled abroad and brought the disease back from overseas or from the foreigner who visits the United States. But most of the time, we observe the disease about like 10 or 12 cases a year related the travel.
Melanie Cole (Host): Wow. So interesting, doctor. And thank you for telling us about the risks and dangers associated with it and how people and animals can get this and the risk of exposure really. So you had a situation a few years ago working which touches on the same disease, but was written about how someone in your lab encountered a dog owner whose animal was infected with melioidosis and they worked together to develop a treatment protocol, which worked. Can you tell us about that?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: Yeah, that's a very touching story. So, in that time, a couple of years ago, I sent a credit student to work in Thailand. And on that day in a local animal hospital in Southern Thailand, my student discovered a case of melioidosis in a dog. It's rare, because they don't diagnose melioidosis in pets or companion pets, dog or cat, but it has been reported in other countries like in Australia before.
So on that day, I received a phone call from my student and he wanted me to tell the treatment to treat the dog, because this disease in animals, there is no guideline how to treat the animal infected with this disease, even in Thailand where the disease is highly endemic and we came out with the plan how are we going to treat the dog. We used the human protocol to treat and the dog's alive and he's healthy. So that a touching story that we saved the dog from melioidosis for the first time. But most of the time, the veterinarian just puts the dog to sleep and that's all. But this one is the first case that we saved the dog,
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, thank you for sharing that story. And you were an author on a UCLA-led research that revealed potential treatments for deadly tropical diseases. Can you tell us about the collaboration that you had, Dr. Tuanyok?
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: In that project, we received funding from the Department of Defense to try to find a good antimicrobial peptide that may be used to treat the disease melioidosis. The thing is, you know, this bacterium is resistant to most antibiotics, that it's difficult to find a proper antibiotic to treat the infection.
So this study, we work with UCLA. And our responsibility here at University of Florida, we developed the animal model, the mouse model to represent the infection. And then we used antimicrobial peptide to treat, and it worked very well. So that's something that we may consider to use in the future. So the name of this peptide is called burkfloxacin, burk, Burkholderia.
Melanie Cole (Host): So then tell us what you're doing right now, Dr. Tuanyok, and working on effective treatments or early diagnosis of melioidosis and its impact on Southeast Asia and other places. Tell us what you're doing right now.
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: So what we have been doing right now in the past seven years that I tried to develop the sovereign system that we can diagnose melioidosis in human and also in animal as well. That it my using the one hell aspect for that. So I travel to many tropical countries in Southeast Asia to collaborate with the universities there and also the local government to help them to diagnose melioidosis properly in humans and animals and help them to develop their local database. And then the database may be used in the future for the risk assessment about the disease in the region in Southeast Asia.
Melanie Cole (Host): Such important work that you're doing, Dr. Tuanyok. As we wrap up, can you please talk about the disease is not just a threat to humans, but to animals, and the risks to animals and humans, as far as exposure, how they get it, the risk of exposure? Wrap it all up for us, Dr. Tuanyok, and what you would like other providers to know about this deadly bacterium.
Dr Apichai Tuanyok: The bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, is not common here, that is the problem. So we need to raise awareness to the physicians and veterinarians. And in the same time, we need to find a way to diagnose the bacterium quickly. Another thing, that the other disease may come with the contamination like that you probably heard about the evidence that's associated with the product sold by Walmart, the household product, that it can have some type of contamination in products from overseas or contamination in the food product as well.
We caught the way that the disease can be contracted through three different routes of infection. One, that I mentioned earlier, through the cut or the wound infection. And the second is by inhalation. And the third from consuming of the contaminated food and water. So we need to be aware of about the disease. And we need a proper diagnostic technique and also the treatment to be available.
Melanie Cole (Host): Thank you so much, Dr. Tuanyok, for sharing your research and incredible expertise with us today. To listen to more podcasts from the experts at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, please visit vetmed.ufl.edu. That concludes today's episode of UF Vet Med Voice, brought to you by the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, advancing animal, human and environmental health. I'm Melanie Cole.