Publication: Randomized soil survey of the distribution of burkholderia pseudomallei in rice fields in laos
Issued Date
2011-01-01
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ISSN
10985336
00992240
00992240
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-79551502109
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Vol.77, No.2 (2011), 532-536
Suggested Citation
Sayaphet Rattanavong, Vanaporn Wuthiekanun, Sayan Langla, Premjit Amornchai, Joy Sirisouk, Rattanaphone Phetsouvanh, Catrin E. Moore, Sharon J. Peacock, Yves Buisson, Paul N. Newton Randomized soil survey of the distribution of burkholderia pseudomallei in rice fields in laos. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Vol.77, No.2 (2011), 532-536. doi:10.1128/AEM.01822-10 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/11388
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Title
Randomized soil survey of the distribution of burkholderia pseudomallei in rice fields in laos
Abstract
Melioidosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia, where the causative organism (Burkholderia pseudomallei) is present in the soil. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), B. pseudomallei is a significant cause of sepsis around the capital, Vientiane, and has been isolated in soil near the city, adjacent to the Mekong River. We explored whether B. pseudomallei occurs in Lao soil distant from the Mekong River, drawing three axes across northwest, northeast, and southern Laos to create nine sampling areas in six provinces. Within each sampling area, a random rice field site containing a grid of 100 sampling points each 5 m apart was selected. Soil was obtained from a depth of 30 cm and cultured for B. pseudomallei. Four of nine sites (44%) were positive for B. pseudomallei, including all three sites in Saravane Province, southern Laos. The highest isolation frequency was in east Saravane, where 94% of soil samples were B. pseudomallei positive with a geometric mean concentration of 464 CFU/g soil (95% confidence interval, 372 to 579 CFU/g soil; range, 25 to 10,850 CFU/g soil). At one site in northwest Laos (Luangnamtha), only one sample (1%) was positive for B. pseudomallei, at a concentration of 80 CFU/g soil. Therefore, B. pseudomallei occurs in Lao soils beyond the immediate vicinity of the Mekong River, alerting physicians to the likelihood of melioidosis in these areas. Further studies are needed to investigate potential climatic, soil, and biological determinants of this heterogeneity. Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology.