Nasner-Posso, Katherinn Melissa;
Cruz-Calderón, Stefania;
Montúfar-Andrade, Franco E;
Dance, David AB;
Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J;
(2015)
Human melioidosis reported by ProMED.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 35.
pp. 103-106.
ISSN 1201-9712
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2015.05.009
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OBJECTIVE: There are limited sources describing the global burden of emerging diseases. A review of human melioidosis reported by ProMED was performed and the reliability of the data retrieved assessed in comparison to published reports. The effectiveness of ProMED was evaluated as a source of epidemiological data by focusing on melioidosis. METHODS: Using the keyword 'melioidosis' in the ProMED search engine, all of the information from the reports and collected data was reviewed using a structured form, including the year, country, gender, occupation, number of infected individuals, and number of fatal cases. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-four entries reported between January 1995 and October 2014 were identified. A total of 4630 cases were reported, with death reported in 505 cases, suggesting a misleadingly low overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 11%. Of 20 cases for which the gender was reported, 12 (60%) were male. Most of the cases were reported from Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia, with sporadic reports from other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Internet-based reporting systems such as ProMED are useful to gather information and synthesize knowledge on emerging infections. Although certain areas need to be improved, ProMED provided good information about melioidosis.