A disease normally found only in tropical areas has been found in Logan, infecting two and piquing the interest of medical experts who are keen to discover how it got here.
Melioidosis can cause lung, skin and bloodstream infections.
After rain, germs are found in mud or water on the ground.
Dr Kari Jarvinen has issued a notice for people in the southern part of Logan and Beaudesert areas to take care.
The two Logan infections were identified after recent heavy rains.
It can infect humans or animals, but is rarely transmitted from one person to another.
Dr Jarvinen, who is a Metro South Health public health physician, said experts were unsure how the disease developed in a particular area.
“It could have been here for a long time or deep under the surface, only to have surfaced during the heavy rain,” he said. “We really don’t know.”
General practitioners in affected areas have been notified of the disease, and told of the likely symptoms.
There have been a handful of cases of the disease identified in southeast Queensland over the past 10 years, but previous cases were likely contracted during overseas visits.
These were the first two people to have been infected locally.
“After rain, the germs are in mud or water on the ground. It can be serious, but you can protect yourself,” Dr Jarvinen said.
“The germ gets into cuts or sores, can be breathed in, or drunk in contaminated water.
“People are at higher risk of getting sick if they have diabetes, chest and kidney diseases, or drink a lot of alcohol.”
On becoming unwell, symptoms might include feeling hot and cold, a cough or trouble breathing, headaches, skin sores which may not heal normally, or tummy pain.
Dr Jarvinen said it was a rare disease and despite two cases in a short period of time, people should not be concerned.
“We don’t want people to panic, but it’s worth being cautious.”
He said they should protect themselves when working or playing near soil – wear waterproof shoes or boots outside, cover cuts and sores, wear gloves in the garden and on farms, wear a mask if using high pressure hoses around soil, shower or bath after working outside, stay inside in heavy rain or wind, and don’t drink groundwater.
“Treatment for Melioidosis involves antibiotics that need to be started in hospital, but residents can take a number of simple measures to protect themselves,” he said.
Medical advice is available on 13 HEALTH.
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