The bacteria I choose to do is Burkholderia mallei. Burkholderia mallei is a gram-negative bacterium Primary isolation requires 48 hours at 37.5 ºC. Growth is accelerated with addition of 1-5% glucose and or 5% glycerol. After artificial infection, a fever, 106o F (41o C), develops in about 3 days and clinical signs within a week. After natural infection, weeks or months may elapse before manifestations of the disease are apparent. Such latent infections are a feature of the epidemiology of glanders.
I choose this bacterium because I am a passionate horse lover and these bacterium Burkholderia mallei causes the disease called glanders. Glanders mainly affects horses, but also donkeys, mules, goats, dogs, and cats. Glanders is a highly contagious disease of solipeds caused by Pseudomonas mallei and characterized by nodular lesions of the lungs and other organs as well as ulcerative lesions of the skin and mucous membranes of the nasal cavity and respiratory passages. The disease typically has a progressive course and poses a significant human health risk. The organism is destroyed by direct sunlight and is sensitive to desiccation. It may survive for up to 6 weeks in infected stables. When horses, donkeys, and mules are concentrated, the morbidity can be high.
Human infection, although not seen in the United States since 1945 is possible. Burkholderia mallei are an organism that is associated with infections in laboratory workers because so very few organisms are required to cause disease. The organism has been considered as a potential agent for biological warfare and of biological terrorism. There is little known about the virulence factors of this organism, but a recent report indicates that the capsular polysaccharide is essential for virulence in hamsters and mice. Standard Precautions should be used to prevent person-to-person transmission in proven or suspected cases. Sulfadiazine 100 has been found to be effective in experimental animals and in humans. Other antibiotics that have been effective in experimental infection in hamsters include doxycycline, rifampin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin. The limited number of infections in humans has precluded therapeutic evaluation of most of the antibiotic agents; therefore, most antibiotic sensitivities are based on animal in vitro studies. Various isolates have markedly different antibiotic sensitivities, so that each isolate should be tested for its own individual resistance pattern.
*Disclaimer - This report was written by a student participaring in a microbiology course at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The accuracy of the contents of this report is not guaranteed and it is recommended that you seek additional sources of information to verify the contents.
Return to Missouri S&T Microbiology HomePage Go to DJW's HomePage
This Document is maintained by djwesten@ mst.edu
