Key points
Melioidosis in people is a nationally notifiable condition. CDC and health departments use a standardized case definition to track melioidosis in the United States. CDC publishes weekly and annual surveillance data in the Notifiable Infectious Disease Data Tables.
Case definition
The melioidosis surveillance case definition provides a set of consistent criteria used to define the disease for public health surveillance and reporting. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases based on the same criteria across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended for healthcare providers when making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient's health needs.
Reporting criteria
National-level monitoring of notifiable conditions helps protect the health of the nation. Information from surveillance notifications shared by health departments can be used to better understand where and how much disease is occurring and what groups it's affecting, as well as determine the best strategies to prevent and respond to the illness.
Local laws and regulations specify which diseases and conditions must be reported. In jurisdictions where melioidosis is reportable, healthcare providers, hospitals, or laboratories must report melioidosis cases to their local health departments. Specific requirements for who must report cases and when to report vary by jurisdiction.
Case Notification
In 2023, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) designated melioidosis in people as a nationally notifiable condition. If a patient meets probable or confirmed case criteria for melioidosis, CSTE requests that information about the patient and disease be submitted to CDC.
Laboratory Notification
Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacteria that causes melioidosis, is designated as a Tier 1 select agent by the CDC-USDA Select Agent Program. If an organism is identified as or suspicious for B. pseudomallei, contact your state or local public health department immediately.
Reporting methods
Health departments should report general information about the patient and disease to CDC through the Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) using National Electronic Telecommunications System for Surveillance (NETSS) messages or the generic message mapping guide.
Health departments may also report melioidosis to the CDC using the Burkholderia Spp. Infection Case Report Form in English or Spanish that can be completed electronically. Completed forms can be securely emailed or faxed to CDC through the contacts listed on the form. Jurisdictional health departments can directly report cases via DCIPHER through Secure Access Managemnt Services (SAMS) credentialing. To request DCIPHER access, for more information about the system, or for other surveillance-related questions, health departments can contact CDC's Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch at bspb@cdc.gov.
CDC surveillance data
Weekly and annual surveillance data for melioidosis cases in people are published in the NNDSS notifiable infectious disease data tables.