Is Melioidosis a One Health-Neglected Disease in Iran?

Abstract

According to the several scientific resources, Iran is considered to be among the melioidosis-endemic regions of the world; this is in stark contrast to the domestic stance in Iran, where the risk of melioidosis is speculated only as an emerging infectious disease in a non-endemic area. Recently, we have had devastating flash floods in the most provinces of Iran; the changing of soil structure may facilitate the cultivation of bacteria in the upper layers of the ground, consequently causes exposure and re-emergence of the disease. Considering previous isolation and identification of <em>Burkholderia mallei, Burkholderia Pseudomallei, </em>and <em>Burkholderia cepacia </em>complex from human, animal, and environment samples in Iran, it is urgently necessary to upgrade and equip infrastructures to identify and distinguish between pathogenic <em>Burkholderia </em>and commensals in the context of the One Health surveillance system. In the present perspective, the history of melioidosis in the country is presented to attract attention to the negligence of disease over the last four decades.