Melioidosis

Melioidosis is an infection with the gram-negative bacillus Burkholdria pse udomallei, previous known as Pseudomonas pseudomallei. We present a case re port of a man with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, who after visiting Indonesia pre sented himself with a urosepsis, with positive cultures to B. pseudomallei. Melioidosis is endemic in areas of southeast Asia and the northern part of Australia. Infection with the B. pseudomallei has a high mortality rate. D iagnosis can be made on the basis of cultures, the bacteria grow on standar d media. Treatment should be based up on sensitivity studies. The optimum d uration of therapy and choice of antibiotics remain to be determined. Due t o the increase in travel, the infection will be seen more frequently in oth er parts of the world. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.