Cases of melioidosis infection reach highest on record: CDC

Taipei, Oct. 15 (CNA) The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday that as of Monday 96 people in Taiwan had been diagnosed with melioidosis in 2024, the highest in the same period since the disease was first recorded in 2001.

Of the cases, 69 showed symptoms within one month of Typhoon Gaemi's arrival in Taiwan on July 25, and 17 have died, the CDC said.

At the CDC's weekly press conference Tuesday, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) also reported that the first domestic case of melioidosis following Typhoon Krathon hit Taiwan was diagnosed last week.

The case is a man from Kaohsiung in his 60s with a medical history of chronic hypertension. He was also exposed to dirty water and mud after the disaster, the CDC said.

The man came down with a persistent fever in early October, and was taken to the emergency room two days later, with difficulty of breathing and general lethargy.

He has since been transferred from intensive care to a regular ward, said the CDC.

CDC Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said domestic cases of melioidosis are most common within a month of a typhoon.

However, as the flooding situation after Typhoon Krathon was not as severe as that following Typhoon Gaemi, Lo expects the spread of melioidosis to be less severe.

The CDC warns that anyone with diabetes, lung, liver or kidney conditions, cancer or an impaired immune system are at greater risk of serious illness from the disease. These people should seek immediate medical attention if they develop a fever, chest pain or cough, it added.

Melioidosis is a bacterial infection that is spread through contact with contaminated soil, air, or water, with an average incubation period of nine days, but the period can range from a few hours to 21 days.

It can display a wide range of symptoms, but the most common are fever, headaches, chest pain, coughing, bloody sputum and swollen lymph nodes, which can lead to cysts, pneumonia, encephalitis or sepsis, the CDC said.

(By Tseng yi-ning and Wu Kuan-hsien)

Enditem/AW