Whole-genome analysis of a cluster of melioidosis fatalities in captive slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) implicates variable strains and mechanisms of transmission

Between March 2015 and October 2016 nine fatal cases of melioidosis were reported in slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) on display at a Wildlife Park in Northern Australia. To investigate the most likely source of the infections we sampled the meerkat enclosure and adjacent park areas and performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on all culture-positive B. pseudomallei environmental and clinical isolates. WGS confirmed that the fatalities were caused by two different B. pseudomallei sequence types (STs) but that seven of the meerkat isolates were highly similar on the whole-genome level.