Soil disease killed 19 last year

Soil disease killed 19 last year

SINGAPORE (Reuter): The mysterious soil disease melioidosis killed 19 people and infected 70 in Singapore last year, the Straits Times newspaper said yesterday.

It said there had been little advance in efforts to find a cure or improve diagnosis or treatment of the disease, found mainly in Southeast Asia.

"Doctors do not know why people die from it despite intensive treatment, or how it can remain dormant for years and then become active suddenly," the paper said.

The disease, believed to be a major killer in Thailand, is caused by bacteria found in wet soil and on the surface of muddy water. Symptoms of the disease include blood poisoning, chest infection and abscesses.