MELIOIDOSIS - SINGAPORE (04)
http://www.straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/home A soil-borne bacterium, causing melioidosis, has killed 24 of the 79
people infected here [Singapore] so far in 2004, a 3-fold rise in the
death rate for the disease.
The overall death rate has jumped from 10 percent of those infected
in 2003 -- 4 deaths out of the 40 -- to about 30 percent this year
[2004], MOH statistics show. The high death rate has led the Ministry
of Health (MOH) to investigate whether the disease was being caused
intentionally, since the bacterium (_Burkholderia pseudomallei_) is a
known agent for potential biological warfare. Fortunately, it was not
caused intentionally: different patients were seen to have different
strains of the bacterium, said Professor K. Satkunanantham, director
of medical services in the ministry.