Dataset Information

Presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil and Paddy Rice Water in a Rice Field in Northeast Thailand, but Not in Air and Rainwater.

ABSTRACT: Environmental Burkholderia pseudomallei has been postulated to be aerosolized during ploughing and heavy rain, and could result in inhalational melioidosis. Here, we determined the presence of B. pseudomallei in soil, paddy field water (PFW), air, and rainwater samples in a single rice paddy field in Ubon Ratchathani, northeast Thailand. In 2012, we collected 100 soil samples during the dry season, 10 PFW samples during the monsoon season, 77 air samples during ploughing (N = 31) and heavy rains (N = 46), and 60 rainwater samples during 12 rain events. We found that 32 soil samples (32%), six PFW samples (60%), and none of the air and rainwater samples were culture positive for B. pseudomallei. Other soil bacteria were isolated from air and rainwater samples. Mean quantitative count of B. pseudomallei estimated from two culture-positive PFW samples was 200 colony forming units/mL. Our findings suggest that the risk of melioidosis acquisition by inhalation in Thailand might be low.

SUBMITTER: Ong CEL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5805070 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil and Paddy Rice Water in a Rice Field in Northeast Thailand, but Not in Air and Rainwater.

Ong Catherine E L CEL Wongsuvan Gumphol G Chew Janet S W JSW Kim Tan Yian TY Teng Low Hwee LH Amornchai Premjit P Wuthiekanun Vanaporn V Day Nicholas P J NPJ Peacock Sharon J SJ Cheng Tan Yoke TY Yap Eric P H EPH Limmathurotsakul Direk D

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 20170928 6

Environmental Burkholderia pseudomallei has been postulated to be aerosolized during ploughing and heavy rain, and could result in inhalational melioidosis. Here, we determined the presence of B. pseudomallei in soil, paddy field water (PFW), air, and rainwater samples in a single rice paddy field in Ubon Ratchathani, northeast Thailand. In 2012, we collected 100 soil samples during the dry season, 10 PFW samples during the monsoon season, 77 air samples during ploughing (N ...[more]

PMID: 29016340

Similar Datasets

Project description:Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil-dwelling bacterium and the cause of melioidosis, which kills an estimated 89,000 people per year worldwide. Agricultural workers are at high risk of infection due to repeated exposure to the bacterium. Little is known about the soil physicochemical properties associated with the presence or absence of the organism. Here, we evaluated the soil physicochemical properties and presence of B. pseudomallei in 6,100 soil samples collected from 61 rice fields in Thailand. The presence of B. pseudomallei was negatively associated with the proportion of clay, proportion of moisture, level of salinity, percentage of organic matter, presence of cadmium, and nutrient levels (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron). The presence of B. pseudomallei was not associated with the level of soil acidity (P = 0.54). In a multivariable logistic regression model, the presence of B. pseudomallei was negatively associated with the percentage of organic matter (odds ratio [OR], 0.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01 to 0.47; P = 0.007), level of salinity (OR, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.74; P = 0.03), and percentage of soil moisture (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00; P = 0.05). Our study suggests that B. pseudomallei thrives in rice fields that are nutrient depleted. Some agricultural practices result in a decline in soil nutrients, which may impact the presence and amount of B. pseudomallei bacteria in affected areas.ImportanceBurkholderia pseudomallei is an environmental Gram-negative bacillus and the cause of melioidosis. Humans acquire the disease following skin inoculation, inhalation, or ingestion of the bacterium in the environment. The presence of B. pseudomallei in soil defines geographic regions where humans and livestock are at risk of melioidosis, yet little is known about the soil properties associated with the presence of the organism. We evaluated the soil properties and presence of B. pseudomallei in 61 rice fields in East, Central, and Northeast Thailand. We demonstrated that the organism was more commonly found in soils with lower levels of organic matter and nutrients, including phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. We also demonstrated that crop residue burning after harvest, which can reduce soil nutrients, was not uncommon. Some agricultural practices result in a decline in soil nutrients, which may impact the presence and amount of B. pseudomallei bacteria in affected areas.

Project description:BackgroundBurkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a severe infectious disease in tropical regions. It is necessary to understand the risk of acquiring this infection from the environment.Methodology /principal findingsThe prevalence, concentration and genetic diversity of B. pseudomallei isolates collected from two sites in Buriram, Northeast Thailand were investigated. Forty-four environmental samples (18 from soil, 14 from rice rhizosphere, and 12 from water) were collected; of those 44 samples, 19 were collected from near a patient's residence and 25 from suspected exposure sites and compared with 10 clinical isolates of the patient. Quantitative culture was performed, and B. pseudomallei was identified using the latex agglutination test and matrix-laser absorption ionisation mass spectrometry. Genotyping was performed in 162 colonies from clinical (N = 10) and environmental samples (N = 152) using pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) followed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) of the clinical strain. B. pseudomallei was detected in 11 of the 44 environmental samples (1 from soil, 4 from rice rhizosphere, and 6 from water). The bacterial count in the positive soil sample was 115 CFU/g. The mean concentrations ± SDs of B. pseudomallei in the positive water and rhizosphere samples were 5.1 ± 5.5 CFU/ml and 80 ± 49 CFU/g, respectively. Six water samples with positive results were collected from a pond and water sources for drinking and daily use. All colonies isolated from the patient shared the same PFGE type (PT) indicating monoclonal infection of ST99. Although the 152 colonies from environmental isolates exhibited 25 PTs, none were identical to the patient's isolates. PT5 and PT7 were most common genotype among the environmental samples.Conclusions/significanceDiverse genotypes of B. pseudomallei were prevalent in the environment. However, the patient may have been infected with a low-density genotype. Intervention strategies for preventing B. pseudomallei infection are required.

Project description:Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil-dwelling bacterium endemic to Southeast Asia and northern Australia that causes the disease, melioidosis. Although the global genomic diversity of clinical B. pseudomallei isolates has been investigated, there is limited understanding of its genomic diversity across small geographic scales, especially in soil. In this study, we obtained 288 B. pseudomallei isolates from a single soil sample (~100g; intensive site 2, INT2) collected at a depth of 30cm from a site in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. We sequenced the genomes of 169 of these isolates that represent 7 distinct sequence types (STs), including a new ST (ST1820), based on multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis. A core genome SNP phylogeny demonstrated that all identified STs share a recent common ancestor that diverged an estimated 796-1260 years ago. A pan-genomics analysis demonstrated recombination between clades and intra-MLST phylogenetic and gene differences. To identify potential differential virulence between STs, groups of BALB/c mice (5 mice/isolate) were challenged via subcutaneous injection (500 CFUs) with 30 INT2 isolates representing 5 different STs; over the 21-day experiment, eight isolates killed all mice, 2 isolates killed an intermediate number of mice (1-2), and 20 isolates killed no mice. Although the virulence results were largely stratified by ST, one virulent isolate and six attenuated isolates were from the same ST (ST1005), suggesting that variably conserved genomic regions may contribute to virulence. Genomes from the animal-challenged isolates were subjected to a bacterial genome-wide association study to identify genomic regions associated with differential virulence. One associated region is a unique variant of Hcp1, a component of the type VI secretion system, which may result in attenuation. The results of this study have implications for comprehensive sampling strategies, environmental exposure risk assessment, and understanding recombination and differential virulence in B. pseudomallei.

Project description:BackgroundBurkholderia pseudomallei is a soil saprophytic bacterium that causes melioidosis. The infection occurs through cutaneous inoculation, inhalation or ingestion. Bacteriophages (phages) in the same ecosystem may significantly impact the biology of this bacterium in the environment, and in their culturability in the laboratory.Methods/principal findingsThe soil samples were analysed for the presence of bacteria using culture methods, and for phages using plaque assays on B. pseudomallei strain 1106a lawns. Of the 86 soil samples collected from northeastern Thailand, B. pseudomallei was cultured from 23 (26.7%) samples; no phage capable of infecting B. pseudomallei was detected in these samples. In contrast, phages capable of infecting B. pseudomallei, but no bacteria, were present in 10 (11.6%) samples. B. pseudomallei and their phages were co-isolated from only 3 (3.5%) of soil samples. Since phage capable of infecting B. pseudomallei could not have appeared in the samples without the prior presence of bacteria, or exposure to bacteria nearby, our data suggest that all phage-positive/bacteria-negative samples have had B. pseudomallei in or in a close proximity to them. Taken together, these findings indicate that the presence of phages may influence the success of B. pseudomallei isolation. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the isolated phages are podoviruses. The temperate phages residing in soil-isolated strains of B. pseudomallei that were resistant to the dominant soil borne phages could be induced by mitomycin C. These induced-temperate phages were closely related, but not identical, to the more dominant soil-isolated phage type.Conclusion/significanceThe presence of podoviruses capable of infecting B. pseudomallei may affect the success of the pathogen isolation from the soil. The currently used culture-based methods of B. pseudomallei isolation appear to under-estimate the bacterial abundance. The detection of phage capable of infecting B. pseudomallei from environmental samples could be a useful preliminary test to indicate the likely presence of B. pseudomallei in environmental samples.

Dataset Information

Presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil and Paddy Rice Water in a Rice Field in Northeast Thailand, but Not in Air and Rainwater.

Publications

Presence of <i>Burkholderia pseudomallei</i> in Soil and Paddy Rice Water in a Rice Field in Northeast Thailand, but Not in Air and Rainwater.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets