Melioidosis in Africa: Time to Raise Awareness and Build Capacity for Its Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Emma Birnie, Ayorinde James, Folake Peters, Makinwa Olajumoke, Tieble Traore, Eric Bertherat, Trung T. Trinh, Dhamari Naidoo, Ivo Steinmetz, W. Joost Wiersinga, Rita Oladele, Alani S. Akanmu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Melioidosis is a tropical infectious disease caused by the soil-dwelling bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei with a mortality of up to 50% in low resource settings. Only a few cases have been reported from African countries. However, studies on the global burden of melioidosis showed that Africa holds a significant unrecognized disease burden, with Nigeria being at the top of the list. The first World Health Organization African Melioidosis Workshop was organized in Lagos, Nigeria, with representatives of health authorities, microbiology laboratories, and clinical centers from across the continent. Dedicated hands-on training was given on laboratory diagnostics of B. pseudomallei. This report summarises the meeting objectives, including raising awareness of melioidosis and building capacity for the detection, diagnosis, biosafety, treatment, and prevention across Africa. Further, collaboration with regional and international experts provided a platform for sharing ideas on best practices.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)394-397
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Volume106
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2022

Cite this