{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T11:07:36Z","timestamp":1771931256194,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771459200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Melioidosis is increasingly recognised in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide as a serious and potentially fatal bacterial infection affecting humans and animals, acquired from the environment. Until now, human cases of melioidosis had not been reported in Southern Africa. Over a four-year period, we identified three human and two animal cases of melioidosis in South Africa and Namibia. Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates were investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption\/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated substantial diversity, suggesting long-term cryptic persistence of the bacterium in the Southern African region. Limited awareness of the disease and inadequate diagnostic capacity likely contribute to its apparent rarity in the region. These findings underscore the urgent need for increased surveillance, improved diagnostics, and greater awareness of melioidosis in Southern Africa to better understand its true epidemiological burden and prevent future cases.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed11020060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T15:57:29Z","timestamp":1771516649000},"page":"60","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Emergence of Human and Animal Melioidosis in Southern Africa, 2018\u20132021"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2840-5563","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer","family":"Rossouw","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hermanus D. W.","family":"Geyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa"},{"name":"SA National Control Laboratory for Biological Products, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Monica","family":"Birkhead","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Douglas","family":"Wilson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Harry Gwala Regional Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4115-894X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jeremy","family":"Nel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa"},{"name":"Wits Infectious Diseases and Oncology Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alan S.","family":"Karstaedt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carel E.","family":"Haumann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PathCare, Windhoek 10005, Namibia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6779-4701","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annelize","family":"Jonker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa"},{"name":"Ampath Veterinary Laboratories, Centurion, Pretoria 0157, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jason W.","family":"Sahl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4073, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2684-6007","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David M.","family":"Wagner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4073, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3375-5760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John A.","family":"Frean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg 2192, South Africa"},{"name":"Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1306","article-title":"On the bacteriology of an infective disease occurring in Rangoon","volume":"2","author":"Whitmore","year":"1912","journal-title":"Br. 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