Fatal melioidosis in a tourist returning from Cambodia.
- Author:
Ja Young SON
1
;
Ki Tae KWON
;
Eun Jung CHOI
;
Jong Pil PARK
;
Do Young SONG
;
Je Chul LEE
;
Chull Hee CHOI
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Daegu Fatima Hospital, Daegu, Korea. ktkwon@fatima.or.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Melioidosis;
Burkholderia pseudomallei;
Septicemia
- MeSH:
Asia, Southeastern;
Australia;
Burkholderia pseudomallei;
Cambodia;
Humans;
Korea;
Male;
Melioidosis;
Middle Aged;
Pneumonia;
Sepsis;
Shock, Septic;
Soil
- From:Korean Journal of Medicine
2009;77(2):246-975
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Melioidosis, which is infection with the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an important cause of sepsis in Southeast Asia and northern Australia and mainly affects diabetics who come into direct contact with wet soil. It presents as a febrile illness, ranging from an acute fulminant septicemia to a chronic debilitating localized infection. Only two cases of chronic infection have been reported in Korea. Both patients had lived in Southeast Asia for more than 1 year. We report a case of melioidosis presenting as acute fulminant septicemia and pneumonia in a 47-year-old diabetic male who had visited Cambodia for 4 days, 1 month before admission. He died of refractory septic shock and multi-organ failure within 10 hours of admission. Melioidosis should be suspected in any severely ill febrile patient with an underlying predisposing condition who lives in, or has travelled from, an endemic area.
