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Volume 31, Number 9—September 2025
Dispatch
Rapidly Progressing Melioidosis Outbreak in City Center Zoo, Hong Kong, 2024
Christopher J. Brackman1, Ivan Tak-Fai Wong1, Allen S.L. Chan1, Patrick C.K. Pun, Dorothy Hong-Ting Cheung, Anne C.N. Tse, Carlton P.M. Yuen, Pierra Y.T. Law, Wing-Yin Tam, Franklin Wang-Ngai Chow
, Gilman Kit-Hang Siu, and Thomas Hon-Chung Sit
, Gilman Kit-Hang Siu, and Thomas Hon-Chung Sit
Table
Characteristics and laboratory findings for a rapidly progressing melioidosis outbreak in city center zoo, Hong Kong, 2024*
| Case no. | Species | Age, y/sex | Onset of clinical signs | Date of death | B. pseudomallei isolated (source) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case 01 | White-faced saki | 2/M | Found dead | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (lung) |
| Case 02 | Common squirrel monkey | 18/M | Found dead | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (liver, lung, spleen) |
| Case 03 | White-faced saki | 24/F | 2024 Oct 12 | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (liver, kidney, lung, spleen) |
| Case 04 | White-faced saki | 31/F | 2024 Oct 13 | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (liver, lung, spleen) |
| Case 05 | Cotton-top tamarin | 3/M | Found dead | 2024 Oct 13 | No |
| Case 06 | Cotton-top tamarin | 13/M | 2024 Oct 13 | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (lung) |
| Case 07 | De Brazza’s monkey | 11/M | 2024 Oct 12 | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (liver, lung, spleen) |
| Case 08 | Cotton-top tamarin | 1/M | 2024 Oct 13 | 2024 Oct 13 | Yes (liver, kidney, lung, spleen) |
| Case 09 | White-faced saki | 1/F | 2024 Oct 13 | 2024 Oct 14 | Yes (lung) |
| Case 10 | Common squirrel monkey | 6/F | 2024 Oct 15 | 2024 Oct 19 | Yes (liver, lung, spleen, brain) |
| Case 11 | Common squirrel monkey | 10/F | 2024 Oct 15 | 2024 Oct 20 | Yes (spleen) |
| Case 12 | De Brazza’s monkey | 13/F | 2024 Oct 13 | 2024 Oct 22 | Yes (liver, spleen) |
*All animals had Burkholderia pseudomallei detected by real-time PCR in liver or spleen tissue.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.
Page created: July 17, 2025
Page updated: August 11, 2025
Page reviewed: August 11, 2025
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