sg is serious with every case of
melioidiosis.
2.why so serious?
Aside from looking at the possible places where infection could have been acquired, we also considered the possibility, although remote, that the cluster of cases had been intentionally caused. As you know, Burkholderia pseudomallei has been classified by many countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, to be a potential biological weapon. All the isolates we obtained from the patients with melioidosis during this period were sent from the diagnostic laboratories to our Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute for genetic fingerprinting using multi-locus fragment length polymorphism. Results were rapid and obtained within 2 days and happily, the isolates obtained during this time was not clonal and were genetically disparate.
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4th World Melioidosis Congress,16 Sep 2004
By Prof K Satkunanantham, Director of Medical Services,Singapore
3.High mortality rate
Over the last 10 years, an average of 67 cases was reported annually, ranging from 36-114 cases. The average mortality rate was 18%
(Addendum : The mortality rate of 47% quoted refers to the 49 cases with pneumonia and or septicaemia. The mortality rate for the 57 cases overall reported during the period January to July 2004 is 40%)
4.
In 1996, New method ELISA can detect MELIOIDOSIS ,BURKHOLDERIA PSEUDOMALLEI,in 3 hours,by NUS. 5.
sg has been learning chem/bio defence for over 20 years.
sg has tried its best to prepare for the worst.
6.Melioidosis (Burkholderia pseudomallei) is a Cat B agent
The Category B agents would be moderately easy to disseminate, would cause moderate morbidity and low mortality, and would require specific enhancements of diagnostic capacity and disease surveillance capabilities.
7.
R&D is still going onSome of the infectious diseases that the lab is studying are malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and melioidosis, as well as infectious agents that may be used by a terrorist....
And the gene sleuths at DMRI are certainly making some headway in their investigations. Collaborating with the National University of Singapore, the lab became the first in the world to identify the key gene sequences for all four malaria species. With this new genetic information, the researchers invented a rapid screening method for diagnosing malaria. While the current method is the microscopic examination of blood films, which is time-consuming and tedious, the new technique can detect malaria automatically with just 1.5 parasites in five microlitres of blood.
