There’s a deadly bacteria that lurks in the soil of Australia’s tropics, killing people every year. A 13-year-old boy who survived the disease, known as melioidosis, is warning others to take care. Meanwhile, Darwin researchers are leading a global project that could revolutionise how the bacteria is tested worldwide.
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00:00Kian Guerrero is as active as active gets, so when he was hit with crushing fatigue last
00:10year it was odd.
00:13Really worn down, tired and just like a really big flu kind of.
00:20Alarm bells went off when he woke up with a swollen elbow.
00:24It was almost like three times the size of what it should be and you could see a visible
00:28rash.
00:29It turned out to be myelodosis, a life-threatening bacterial infection that rarely affects children.
00:37Put on strong antibiotics for months, Kian lost almost 10 kilograms in weight.
00:43I was scared and a little worried because I didn't know what was going to happen to
00:47me.
00:48It's suspected Kian got the infection from an open wound on his leg when he umpired a
00:53muddy AFL match at the height of last year's wet season.
00:57A study by health researchers in Darwin has found the majority of the city's sporting
01:01fields have the bacteria, but experts warn healthy people shouldn't be alarmed.
01:07We just recommend that they be sensible about any cuts or sores and then give them a good
01:11wash.
01:12Professor Currie's team at Menzies is part of a global project to speed up testing for
01:18the disease, using a person's sputum, urine or blood to give a result on the spot.
01:25This rapid antigen test will have a role to play in smaller places in the world where
01:30they don't have the quality laboratory resources that say we have here at Royal Darwin.
01:36Kian's back to full health and isn't taking it for granted.
01:41Always be prepared, you don't know what's going to happen, cover your cuts up as well.
01:45Growing up in the tropics with a survival story to tell.