Melioidosis is a protean disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is rare in the UK and is generally only seen in patients with a travel history to endemic areas such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Cases may present with disseminated bacteraemic, non-disseminated bacteraemic, multi-focal bacteraemic or localized disease. Subclinical infections also occur. Following acquisition of the organism a patient may remain asymptomatic for several years before infection becomes clinically apparent. Factors such as diabetes, renal failure or other causes for a decrease in host immunity may precipitate the appearance of overt disease. The current treatment choice for severe melioidosis is parenteral ceftazidime followed by oral amoxycillin-clavulanic acid or a combination of co-trimoxazole, doxycycline and chloramphenicol. We report a case of melioidosis in a 59-year-old male diabetic from Bangladesh who initially responded to piperacillin-tazobactam but was changed to ceftazidime when a definitive diagnosis was made. His condition deteriorated on the latter antibiotic. He subsequently responded to imipenem. The patient's long-term outcome is still not known.
A previously healthy Chinese male working in Malaysia returned to China with high fever. A blood culture showed Burkholderia pseudomallei strain WCBP1. This isolate was sequenced, showing type, ST881, which appears to be present in Malaysia. WCP1 had unusual susceptibility to aminoglycosides and habored the Yersinia-like fimbrial gene cluster for virulence. The patient's condition deteriorated rapidly but he recovered after receiving meropenem and intensive care support. Melioidosis is a potential problem among Chinese imigrant workers with strains new to China being identified.