Top End Health Alert

If you are a plumber living in the Northern Territory, or are planning to head there to work, you should be aware of a potentially fatal bacteria found in soil and water.

It's called Melioidosis and is commonly known as Nightcliff Gardeners Disease.

Melioidosis is an infectious disease that exists in acute and chronic forms.
It kills people in the Northern Territory each wet season due to bacteria living in the soil rising to the surface in rainy weather.

Symptoms may include pains in the chest, bones, or joints, a cough, skin infections, lung nodules and pneumonia.

Anyone working in soil, like gardeners and plumbers, is urged to take care to protect themselves, particularly if they have cuts on their skin or a reduced immune system.

More information is available at the Centre for Disease Control in your region.

Alice Springs: 8951 7540
Darwin: 8922 8044
Katherine: 8973 9049
Nhulunbuy: 8987 0357
Tennant Creek: 8962 4259

or at www.nt.gov.au/health/cdc

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ISSUE 8 - feb/march 2014

Top End Health Alert

If you are a plumber living in the Northern Territory, or are planning to head there to work, you should be aware of a potentially fatal bacteria found in soil and water.