Two Whitmore’s disease cases detected in Hòa Bình

A patient suffering from Whitmore's disease is under treatment at Huế Central Hospital in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế. VNA/VNS File photo

HÒA BÌNH –The Hoà Bình Provincial General Hospital reported on Wednesday that it is currently treating two patients diagnosed with Whitmore's disease.

The patients, H.N.T, 43, from Đà Bắc District, and B.T.C, 59, from Lạc Sơn District in Hoà Bình Province, were both admitted in critical condition. They suffered from respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, sepsis, multiple organ failure, pleuritis with pleural effusion, and abscesses in the liver and soft tissues.

T’s family revealed that he had been working in a southern province for over ten years, delivering frozen goods daily. He had experienced a persistent high fever, and despite seeking treatment, his condition only temporarily improved.

On August 28, he returned home and was admitted to Hoà Bình Provincial General Hospital with a high fever, chills, respiratory failure, septic shock, and multiple organ failure.

Dr Hoàng Công Tình, Head of the Intensive Care Unit 1 at the hospital, confirmed that diagnostic tests showed pleuritis with bilateral pleural effusion, a liver abscess, and sepsis caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacteria responsible for Whitmore's disease.

The patient was treated with mechanical ventilation, continuous blood filtration, vasopressors, and broad-spectrum antibiotics, including those specific to Whitmore's disease. He remains in critical condition, receiving intensive care with multi-specialty consultations.

Patient C, prior to her hospitalisation, experienced high fever, swelling, redness, and pain in her right wrist, along with worsening cough and shortness of breath. She was admitted to Lạc Sơn District Medical Centre on August 28 with chest pain and difficulty breathing, before being transferred to Hoà Bình Provincial General Hospital for emergency treatment.

Dr Tình reported that C arrived in respiratory failure and required non-invasive mechanical ventilation. She also exhibited a high fever, chills, signs of infection, an abscess in her right wrist, and bilateral pleural effusion. Blood cultures and lung tests confirmed an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei.

After over a week of treatment with antibiotics, C’s condition has improved significantly, and she is no longer in critical condition. She is expected to be discharged in ten days and will continue oral antibiotics for three to six months at home.

Whitmore's disease is a bacterial infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, which resides in contaminated soil and water. It typically enters the body through open wounds or mucous membranes. The disease is often misdiagnosed, leading to delayed treatment, and requires specific antibiotics, with a treatment course lasting up to six months to prevent relapse.

Between 2019 and 2020, Hoà Bình Provincial General Hospital successfully treated five severe cases of Whitmore’s disease involving multiple organ failure. Currently, there is no vaccine available for the disease. – VNS