A cluster of melioidosis infections in hatchling saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) resolved using genomewide comparison of a common north Australian strain of burkholderia pseudomallei

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative saprophytic bacillus and the aetiological agent of melioidosis, a disease of publichealth importance throughout Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Infection can occur in humans and a wide array of animal species, though zoonotic transmission and case clusters are rare. Despite its highly plastic genome and extensive strain diversity, fine-scale investigations into the population structure of B. pseudomallei indicate there is limited geographical dispersal amongst sequence types (STs). In the ‘Top End’ of northern Australia, five STs comprise 90% of the overall abundance, the most prevalent and widespread of which is ST-109. In May 2016, ST-109..