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Volume 27, Number 12—December 2021
Dispatch

Increased Incidence of Melioidosis in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, 1998–2019

Simon SmithComments to Author , Peter Horne, Sally Rubenach, Richard Gair, James Stewart, Lee Fairhead, and Josh Hanson
Author affiliations: Cairns Hospital, Cairns, Queensland, Australia (S. Smith, J. Stewart, L. Fairhead, J. Hanson); Tropical Public Health Services, Cairns (P. Horne, S. Rubenach, R. Gair); University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J. Hanson)

Main Article

Table 1

Incidence, predisposing conditions, and outcomes of locally acquired melioidosis cases in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, January 1998–December 2019

Variable 1998–2002 2003–2007 2008–2011 2012–2015 2016–2019 p value*
Far North Queensland population, mean 220,814 232,598 256,852 272,055 283,178 <0.001
No. cases 44 41 31 56 112 <0.001
Annual incidence, cases/100,000 population, mean (95% CI) 4.0 (2.7–5.2) 3.5 (1.8–5.2) 3.0 (0–6.2) 5.1 (0.6–9.7) 9.9 (4.9–14.9) <0.001
Age, y, median (interquartile range)
 46 (32–58)
 52 (40–63)
 51 (38–62)
 49 (42–64)
 55 (47–65)
 0.001
Predisposing condition, %
Any† 73 85 84 82 90 0.02
Diabetes mellitus 50 56 58 44 58 0.59
Hazardous alcohol use 34 39 45 46 31 0.60
Chronic lung disease 7 12 16 14 16 0.13
Chronic kidney disease 16 15 3 23 17 0.48
Immunosuppression
 7
 12
 16
 20
 13
 0.21
Bacteremia, % 70 68 77 77 68 0.85
Case-fatality rate, % 27 15 3 11 9 0.004

*p value for trend calculated by using annual data with year as a continuous variable. †Incomplete access to patient charts from early in the study period is likely to lead to overestimation of the proportion of cases with no predisposing factor.

Main Article

Page created: October 06, 2021
Page updated: November 19, 2021
Page reviewed: November 19, 2021
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