Picture courtesy of HealthToday
An alarming outbreak of melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, has emerged in Thailand, claiming the lives of approximately 10 farmers in Buriram, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Songkhla.
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) is warning farmers about the disease, triggered by the fungus Burkholderia pseudomallei, typically found in contaminated soil, water, rice paddies, and cropping farms. The spring outbreak has stirred anxiety among medical offices across the nation.
Chief of the DDC Office 9, Dr Taweesak Wisanuyothin, disclosed that 582 cases of the illness have been identified this year in four lower northeastern provinces under the office’s jurisdiction. These provinces include Buriram with 336 cases, Nakhon Ratchasima with 93, Surin with 106, and Chaiyaphum with 47. Tragically, six individuals, four from…
