The bacteria I chose were Pseudomonas (Burkholderia) pseudomallei. P. pseudomallei is a gram negative, chemoorganotrophic rod. It is most effectively cultured using King’s B Medium at 38-40 degree Celsius and neutral pH. A unique characteristic about P. pseudomallei is the fact that it consists of two large chromosomes rather then one. P. pseudomallei is responsible for the disease Melioidosis and is known as the Great Mimicker.
A typical organism causes disease with recognizable signs and symptoms. What are doctors to do when there is an organism out there that can cause blood disease, abscesses, lung disease, kidney disease, heart disease, and many more problems? This is what physicians deal with when they encounter Melioidosis. People in Southeast Asia, Australia, and parts of Africa live in fear of this daily. The bacteria enters the body through skin abrasions, burns, scrapes, inhalation of contaminated dust, and ingestion of contaminated food. Person-to-person transmission is not common, and primarily occurs with intravenous drug users. The spread of the disease amongst drug users usually leads to septicemia (blood poisoning). This form of the disease is typically the most harmful, and is often fatal.
Perhaps the greatest fear associated with P. pseudomallei is bio-terrorism. We all know the threats that are faced by the world daily now. Terrorism makes the front page of every major news source of the world every day. So far the world has not had to deal with any large acts of bio-terrorism, but many fear that if an attack were to occur then P. pseudomallei may be used. Its ability to be the Great Mimicker means that on the microbial level it is a very formidable enemy. The large genome supports an outstanding ability to transfer genes amongst the organism. P. pseudomallei in the right hands could be more harmful to the human population then a nuclear attack.
I’ve talked a lot about how bad P. pseudomallei is, but there is good news. As the disease is now, it is treatable if caught in time. A course of antibiotics is available to treat persons that are diagnosed with Melioidosis. Mild infections can be treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) and ceftazidime. Acute septicemia requires an antibiotic cocktail that includes tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and TMP/SMX.
There is no vaccine against P. pseudomallei, the best way to prevent infection is to promptly clean all skin wounds you get, and to of course not share needle if you are an IV drug user.
*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.
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