Pathogenesis of and immunity to melioidosis

While Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is bec oming increasingly recognized as a significant cause of morbidity and morta lity in regions to which it is endemic, no licensed vaccine preparation cur rently exists for immunization against the disease. Therefore, one of the p rimary goals of our research has been to identify and characterize antigens expressed by B. pseudomallei isolates for the intended purpose of developi ng a vaccine construct that can be used to actively immunize specific high risk populations against the disease. By utilizing a combination of biochem ical, immunological and molecular approaches, our studies now indicate that some of the most promising candidates for this task include flagellin prot eins and the endotoxin derived O-polysaccharide (PS) antigens expressed by the organism. In this review, we have attempted to summarize the current st atus of B. pseudomallei research while endeavoring to provide a rationale f or our approach towards the development of a melioidosis vaccine. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.