Due to high fever and difficulty breathing for 3 consecutive days, nearly a month ago, Ms. D.T.M.L, 33 years old, residing in Ward 8, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, went to a medical facility near her home for examination.
After being admitted to the hospital, due to the rapid progression of the disease, Ms. L fell into respiratory failure and had to be put on an invasive ventilator. After 24 hours of admission, the patient went into septic shock.
Immediately, Ms. L was consulted by multiple hospitals and transferred to Gia Dinh People's Hospital for intensive resuscitation due to bilateral diffuse lung damage (nearly 70% of the volume of both lungs).
At the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, patient L had clinical manifestations of acute respiratory distress syndrome, severe hypoxemia, and risk of requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO).
After 48 hours of hospitalization, patient L's blood culture results showed that she was positive for Burkholderia pseudomallei (Whitmore's disease). This is a very dangerous infectious disease with a high mortality rate. After 14 days of treatment, Ms. L recovered almost completely.
Staying by her daughter's side since she was admitted to the hospital, seeing her eat and walk normally, Ms. T.T.D, mother of patient L, emotionally shared: "Two weeks ago, every time I saw my daughter lying in a coma, motionless, I could only cry. When the doctor told me that my daughter's condition was critical, my family prepared mentally and financially to take care of her funeral. However, the doctors at Gia Dinh People's Hospital saved my daughter's life, bringing a miracle to the whole family."
Master - Doctor Pho Thien Phuoc, Department of Cardiovascular Resuscitation, the doctor who directly treated patient L, shared: "According to recent statistics in countries like Thailand or Singapore, the rate of patients dying from sepsis caused by this agent is up to 40% - 50%.
In particular, if the patient has severe pneumonia, the risk of death can be up to 75%. Whitmore disease is often transmitted through contact with contaminated soil and water and often appears in patients with reduced resistance such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, alcoholism...
Currently, there is no vaccine for Whitmore, nor are there any recommendations for the use of prophylactic antibiotics. When there is an open wound, this bacteria can easily enter the body, causing infection.
Initially, the disease may only cause mild symptoms such as fever, cough, and muscle pain. However, if not treated promptly, the disease can progress severely, causing damage to many organs, even leading to death.
A typical example is Ms. L. She said: “I have a habit of walking barefoot on the ground when exercising in the park to increase the sensitivity of my feet and help strengthen my leg muscles. Perhaps because of this habit, I was infected with the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei.”
