At a hastily-called news conference Saturday (Feb.7), a host of parish, state and federal officials announced that a U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist investigating the bacteria that led to the death of a monkey at the center last year had fallen ill and that tests revealed she had the bacteria in her blood. Investigators say it's too early to determine definitively if the scientist became sick as a result of her work at the center or whether she may have been exposed to Burkholderia pseudomallei as a result of her travels.A hastily called press conference alerts the area that they do not need to worry about this thing they would not otherwise have been aware of. That is very reassuring. Right after having been very frightening.
The bacteria are rarely transmitted from person to person or animal to person. Melioidosis is primarily a tropical climate disease and is widespread in southeast Asia and northern Australia. The bacteria that cause the disease are found in contaminated soil and water and spread to humans and animals through direct contact with the contaminated material, usually through an open cut.
Officials have said there's no reason to believe that the bacteria have spread beyond the primate center and there are no reports of sick individuals at the research facility, which employs about 300 people.
Anyway, longtime diseased monkey enthusiasts will note that this is not the first such incident by a long shot. They do have fun at the Tulane monkey house.