NT WorkSafe is urging all Territory workplaces to be vigilant against the deadly soil-borne disease melioidosis, after a worker at a Darwin landscaping company was diagnosed with the disease on January 23.

While Melioidosis usually peaks in the NT during the wet season from April to October, recent heavy rains and flooding have brought the melioidosis bacteria to the surface, and wind can cause it to be blown into the air which can be inhaled through dust and droplets, the regulator said.

Initial enquiries indicate the landscaping worker was completing gardening work days before being diagnosed. However, due to the delay in symptoms, the exact location where the worker may have contracted the disease cannot be confirmed.

The worker commenced appropriate medical treatment, which included ongoing intravenous antibiotics.

Melioidosis bacteria can cause infection when they enter a person’s body through skin cuts and sores or through inhalation of dust or droplets. Health experts said the disease could lead to severe pneumonia and blood poisoning, with 10 per cent of infected individuals dying if left untreated.

NT WorkSafe said that workplaces should undertake Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC) before starting jobs in any work environment; consider available control measures and implement them to eliminate or minimise the risks by providing workers with personal protective equipment, providing adequate washing facilities and ensuring proper personal hygiene practices; skin cuts, abrasions or wounds should be covered with waterproof dressings.

Workplaces are also urged to follow the NT’s work health and safety consultation, cooperation and coordination Code of Practice, and consult their workers and their health and safety.

Data from NT Health shows that 22 cases, including the two deaths, were reported since October. The department expects cases to continue to rise throughout the wet season and that it is important for anyone experiencing symptoms of Melioidosis to get medical attention early.

Case numbers in the last wet season (October 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023) were higher than usual, with 87 cases of melioidosis and six deaths reported in the NT.

On average around 50 cases of melioidosis are reported in the NT annually, with the vast majority of those diagnosed between November and April, the health department said.

NT WorkSafe also said that workers with symptoms of melioidosis should immediately contact their employer and seek medical help as soon as possible.