Deadly Bacteria Can Be Acquired Through Sniffing, Attacks The Brain And Spinal Cord In Just One Day

A new study has recently revealed that potentially deadly bacteria can be picked up by sniffing, and can pass through the brain and the spinal cord in just one day.

The bacteria known as Burkholderia pseudomallei is said  to cause melioidosis, an infectious disease that kills about 89,000 people globally per year.

According to news.com.au, what's scary about the bacteria is that patients wouldn't know if they have already been affected, and could have a fatal result a day later. It is said to be most commonly found in soil of populated areas of Northern Australia, like Darwin, during the wet season.

Authorities have warned residents about the bug. They have also instructed them to avoid mud, groundwater, and aerosolized soil. "During the dry season, [the] bacteria live deep in the soil but after rain, larger amounts of the bacteria are brought to the surface and this poses a risk of exposure to people of the Top End," the Centre for Disease Control boss Dr. Vicki Krause said in 2014.

Tech Times reported that those with conditions like diabetes, skin wound, and chronic renal disease are at an increased risk of contracting melioidosis.

"After intranasal inoculation of mice, B. pseudomallei caused low-level localized infection within the nasal cavity epithelium, prior to invasion of the trigeminal nerve in small numbers. B. pseudomallei rapidly invaded the trigeminal nerve and crossed the astrocytic barrier to enter the brainstem within 24 hours and then rapidly progressed over 2,000 μm into the spinal cord," the researchers reported in their study, which was published in the journal Infection and Immunity.

Meanwhile, according to Mail online, Dr. Krause saying that the disease may vary from fever, cough, and breathing difficulties. Though the symptoms are quite common, Dr. Krause said that the presentation can be different.

Professor Ifor Beachman from the Institute for Glycomics explained that the olfactory mucosa in the nose has a very close proximity to the brain. It has long been known that certain viruses could reach the brain using that part of the nose.

He said: "Our latest results represent the first direct demonstration of transit of a bacterium from the olfactory mucosa to the central nervous system (CNS) via the trigeminal nerve. Bacteria were found a considerable distance from the olfactory mucosa, in the brain stem, and even more remarkably in the spinal cord."

He added by saying that the results can greatly contribute to the researchers understanding of this disease. "It seems likely, however, that other bacteria may also transit from nose to CNS, although this has yet to be determined," Beachman continued.