Glanders

CPC Foundation interview wilh Tom Chiller. ectdemioloaisi and medical director of CPC s Gel Smart on the F aim prop ram. 

Disaase LisLntil General Information I Technical IntprmaliQn I Additional Information 

B Why has glanders become a current issue j] How common is glanders  

B How is olandersdiaonosed n Can glanders spread from person and person B Is there a wav to prevent infection1  

BurkhokJeria mallei is an organism that Is associated with infections in laboratoiy workers because so very few organisms are requited to cause disease. The organism has been considered as a potential agent ror biological warfare and of biological terrorism 

Source Equids (horses, mules, donkeys), goats, 

Populations Veterinarians, horse handlers, laboratory person- 

Bowel movements - diarrhea Breathing - difficult (dyspnea) 

light sensitivity - increased (photophobia) Eyes, tears (lacrimation) - increased Head - pain (headache) 

Lymph nodes, neck - enlarged Lymph nodes, regional - enlarged Mentation - confusion Mentation - weakness (malaise) 

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Glander K.E., Wright P.C., Seigler D.S., Randrianasolo V., et al. (1989). Consumption of cyanogenic bamboo by a newly discovered species of Bamboo Lemur. Am J Primatol 19, 119-124. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Abdominal aneurysm, aortic dissection, pleural effusion, subarachnoid hemorrhage, superior vena cava syndrome, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, mediastinitis, fulminate mediastinal tumors pneumonia, gastroenteritis, meningitis, ecthyma, rat bite fever, spider bite, leprosy, plague, tularemia, coccidioidomycosis, diphtheria, glanders, histoplasmosis, psittacosis, typhoid fever, and rickettsial pox. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Symptomatology is not very characteristic and the disease is difficult to diagnose. Consider tuberculosis, nonspecific purulent conditions, caseous lymphadenitis, actinobacillosis. In horses consider strangles and glanders. 

These studies were funded by NSF grant BCS-0409367 and the Duke University Arts Science Research Council (to C.M.D.), and by the Molly Glander Award, Howard Hughes Biology Forum, and Duke Undergraduate Research Support (to E.S.S.). All protocols were approved by the Duke University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (A245-03-07). This is DLC publication 1018. 

Category B agents There are eleven Category B agents as follows brucellosis, epsilon toxin (clostridium perfringens), glanders, melioidosis, psittacosis, Q fever, ricin toxin, staphylococcus enterotoxin B, typhus fever, viral encephalitis, and water safety threats. 

In March of 2000, a microbiologist working with infectious diseases in a Biosafety Level 3 facility at USAMRIID contacted glanders due to accidental exposure. Between 1987 and 1990, two other workers acquired infectious diseases at the same facility. 

Guides for Emergency Response Biological Agent or Weapon Glanders (includes Melioidosis)... 

Caution Both glanders and melioidosis may occur in an acute localized form, as an acute pulmonary infection, or as an acute fulminant, rapidly fatal, sepsis. Combinations of these syndromes may occur in human cases. In addition, melioidosis may remain asymptomatic after initial acquisition, and remain quiescent for decades, but these patients may display active melioidosis years later which is often associated with an immune-compromising state. Aerosol infection produced by a biological weapon containing either glanders (B. mallei) or melioidosis (B. pseudomallei) could produce any of these syndromes... 

Glanders A chronic debilitating disease of horses and other equids, as well as some members of the cat family, caused by Pseudomonas mallei it is transmissible to humans. It attacks the mucous membranes of the nostrils of the horse, producing an increased and vitiated secretion and discharge of mucus, and enlargement and induration of the glands of the lower jaw. 

How is. glanders transmitted and, who can ciet it B What are the symptoms erf glanders g Whgrgjstj andejsj ... 

Glanders is transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals. The bacteria enter the body through the skirt and through mucosal surfaces of the eyes and nose. The sporadic cases have been documented in veterinarians, horse caretakers, and laboratorians. 

Chronic infections The chronic form of glanders involves multiple abscesses within the moscFes of the arms and legs or in the spleen or liver. 

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