Introduction: Melioidosis among Filipinos may be underreported. The causative agent, Burkholderia pseudomallei, thrives in soil and water in tropical regions. Because our country thrives on agriculture as a source of livelihood, occupational exposure through farming needs to be recognized. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 40-year-old male complaining of intermittent fever, progressive weight loss and jaundice for three weeks prompting consult. Whole abdominal ultrasound showed presence of a hepatic mass. Further evaluation using CT scan of the whole abdomen with contrast revealed multiple cystic hepatic nodules with wall/septal enhancement. He was admitted and was initially managed as sepsis secondary to a complicated intra-abdominal infection (liver abscess, pyogenic or amebic). Ciprofloxacin and metronidazole were started. Aspiration of the hepatic abscess showed many pus cells. Culture of the aspirate grew Burkholderia pseudomallei, sensitive to ceftazidime. Antibiotics were shifted accordingly. Defervescence ensued. Patient was discharged improved after two weeks of ceftazidime wo grams every eight hours given intravenously followed by a three-month oral course of cotrimoxazole 160mg/800mg tablet, two tablets every 12 hours and doxycycline 150mg capsule every 12 hours. On follow-up after three months, he had no recurrence of symptoms and was able to resume his usual work. Discussion: Melioidosis is a disease of humans and animals that is geographically restricted to tropical countries since the organism thrives in soil and water. Symptom onset may be delayed due to the ability of the organism to produce latent infection. Isolation of B. pseudomallei from clinical specimens sent for culture and sensitivity testing is the diagnostic gold standard. Conclusion Melioidosis may present as an intraabdominal infection. A high clinical index of suspicion among those with occupational exposure to contaminated soil and water is important to promptly recognize and treat this infection.
Burkholderia pseudomallei

Aims: Burkholderia pseudomallei, the human pathogen that causes melioidosis, is intrinsically resistant towards a wide range of antibiotics and there have been reports of acquired resistance towards antibiotics used for melioidosis treatments. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) such as bacteriocins are gaining the interests of researchers as alternative for treating infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria. In this study, we aimed to identify Burkholderia spp. isolated from soil in Sarawak that possess the potential in inhibiting the growth of B. pseudomallei and to further characterize the antagonistic compound produced. Methodology and results: A total of 50 Burkholderia spp. isolates of environmental origin and two isolates of Ralstonia solanacearum were screened against five clinical isolates of B. pseudomallei using spot-on-lawn assay and flip streak method. Burkholderia stagnalis isolate K23/3 showed clear zones of inhibition (ZOI) in both preliminary tests. Cell-free supernatant (CFS) was obtained from B. stagnalis K23/3 broth culture and was tested via agar well diffusion assay (AWDA). The antagonistic compound secreted at the early log phase of the bacterial growth was shown to be stable in a wide range of temperatures and pH. Treatment with different enzymes revealed that it was sensitive towards proteinase K, suggesting that it is proteinaceous. The bacteriocin-like-substance (BLIS) was subjected to ammonium sulfate precipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The SDS-PAGE gel was overlaid with indicator B. pseudomallei isolates where the active protein was shown to be less than 7.1 kDa. Conclusion, significance and impact of study Burkholderia stagnalis isolate K23/3 was able to secrete bacteriocin-like-substance (BLIS) that has the potential in biocontrol of B. pseudomallei in the environment or as potential treatment for melioidosis.
Bacteriocins ; Burkholderia ; Burkholderia pseudomallei

Background: Melioidosis is a potentially fatal disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. Over a century after its discovery, there seems to be a paucity of reported cases in the Philippines relative to other countries where it is found to be endemic. This suggests that the true burden of melioidosis in the country is not well-defined. The rarity of the disease, its protean clinical manifestations, and the lack of pathognomonic features pose a great diagnostic challenge. Furthermore, the proper recognition of the organism is an extreme necessity as it is intrinsically resistant to numerous antibiotics and requires specific long-term treatment. Case: This is a case of a 49-year-old Filipino diagnosed with a metastatic spinal disease from a primary thyroid carcinoma and underwent posterior spinal decompression and stabilization. Revision of instrumentation was done following identification of an implant loosening. During the interim, wound dehiscence and infection developed. The patient was readmitted and underwent debridement of the lumbosacral spine. Wound cultures all yielded growth of Burkholderia pseudomallei. The patient received meropenem and then trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole with ciprofloxacin during the intensive and eradication phase, respectively. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were monitored and a significant reduction in both values reflected a good therapeutic response. Conclusion This is a rare case of a deep surgical site infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is known that melioidosis is a potentially fatal infection but is under-reported in the Philippines. At present, further epidemiological studies along with an increased level of awareness of melioidosis are greatly needed to help define the true burden of illness and optimize patient management following prompt recognition.
Melioidosis ; Philippines ; Burkholderia pseudomallei

OBJECTIVETo develop an up-converting phosphor technology-based lateral-flow (UPT-LF) assay for rapid quantitative detection of Burkholderia pseudomallei on site.

METHODSThe strip Bps-UPT-LF strip was prepared with up-converting phosphor (UCP) particles as the bio-label using double-antibody sandwich method. Detection performance, including sensitivity, quantitative accuracy, precision, and specificity, were first evaluated using bacterial suspensions of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the related species and the strains which had similar routes of transmission with serial standard concentrations diluted by phosphate buffer, then biological and chemical reagents and simulated samples with series concentrations were employed for sample tolerance evaluation, while the operation error during on site detection was also evaluated through adjusting liquid measure.

RESULTSThe whole detection was accomplished within 20 minutes, and the sensitivity was 10(4) CFU/ml with linear quantitative range from 10(4) CFU/ml to 10(7) CFU/ml, which covered four orders of magnitude. Bps-UPT-LF strip demonstrated high specificity with the absence of any false-positive result even at 10(7) and 10(8) CFU/ml of non-specific bacterial contamination. Not only Bps-UPT-LF strip could tolerate to high concentration of the extreme acid and basic matter (pH 1-12), saline matter (≤ 2 mol/L mixture of NaCl and KCl), viscous materials (≤ 50 g/L of PEG 20000 and ≤ 20% of glycerol) and bio-macromolecule (≥ 400 g/L of bovine serum albumin or ≥ 80 g/L of casein), but also it can directly detect animal, environmental and powder specimen, such as ≥ 400 g/L of milk powder, flour powder, fruit juice, fresh and decomposed viscera, and ≤ 200 g/L of putty powder, sucrose, gourmet powder, and soil. Operation errors of liquid measure had few effects on sensitivity and specificity, including -50%-200% of sample, -22%-44% of sample-treating buffer and -30%-30% of loading mixture.

CONCLUSIONThe good detection performance and tolerance performance bring the bright future for Bps-UPT-LF strip to detect Burkholderia pseudomallei on site rapidly and quantitatively for nature foci surveillance and anti-bioterrorism.

Adolescent ; Burkholderia pseudomallei ; pathogenicity ; Humans ; Male ; Pericarditis ; diagnosis ; microbiology

Melioidosis, which is an infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is prevalent mostly in Southeast Asia and northern Australia; it can progress to abscess formation, pneumonia and sepsis, and ultimately cause death. A 66-yr-old male patient with diabetes mellitus was hospitalized for sepsis 3 months after coming back from Cambodia, and B. pseudomallei was identified from the blood culture. The B. pseudomallei strain was found to be susceptible to carbapenem, and non-susceptible to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ceftazidime. Although the patient was treated with carbapenem, to which the strain was susceptible, the bacteremia persisted, and progressed to septic shock and pneumonia, and eventually to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The patient died on the 12th day of hospitalization. This study, which reports the first case of ceftazidime-nonsusceptible B. pseudomallei in Korea, indicates the importance of B. pseudomallei infection, which is highly likely to be imported to Korea, and discuss its clinical progress, which can lead to fatality.
Abscess ; Asia, Southeastern ; Australia ; Bacteremia ; Burkholderia pseudomallei* ; Burkholderia* ; Cambodia ; Ceftazidime ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Melioidosis ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Sepsis ; Shock, Septic

Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacillus, Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is endemic in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, where B. pseudomallei is a soil saprophyte and invades the host through inoculation, inhalation or ingestion. It infects mostly adults with predisposing conditions, mainly diabetes mellitus. The lung is the most commonly affected organ, presenting with either cough or fever resulting from a primary spread. Also, seeding and abscess formation can arise in any organ. However, prostatic abscess due to melioidosis is uncommon. We report a case of pneumonia, and prostate and scrotal abscesses due to Burkholderia pseudomallei, in a 48-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who had a history of working in Malaysia. This is the first report of genitourinary infection of melioidosis in Korea.
Abscess ; Adult ; Asia, Southeastern ; Australia ; Bacillus ; Burkholderia ; Burkholderia pseudomallei ; Communicable Diseases ; Cough ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Eating ; Fever ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Lung ; Malaysia ; Melioidosis ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia ; Prostate ; Seeds ; Soil

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal involvement in melioidosis is often seen in conjunction with a disseminated illness. Recent reports suggest that operative management of musculoskeletal melioidosis has favourable results. The purpose of this study was to review the patient profile and clinical outcomes of Burkholderia pseudomallei infection in the musculoskeletal system. METHODS: Hospital records of 163 patients who were diagnosed to have B. pseudomallei infection between January 2009 and December 2014 were reviewed. Patients underwent surgical and nonsurgical management depending upon the tissue of involvement. Epidata software was used to record the data. The SPSS ver. 17.0 was used for analysis. RESULTS: Eighteen out of 24 patients who had musculoskeletal melioidosis were available for follow-up. Septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and intramuscular abscess were the common diagnosis, with 6 patients in each group. Twelve patients required surgical intervention. All patients received a full course of parenteral ceftazidime followed by oral doxycycline and co-trimoxazole. Two out of 6 patients (33.3%) died among those who had nonsurgical management as compared to none in the group who had surgical management. This was significant at 10% level of significance (p = 0.098). The rest were followed up for a minimum of 1 year with no evidence of disease recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: This series describing musculoskeletal involvement in melioidosis is the largest such study from a recently recognized ‘endemic’ region. Of importance are the patterns of musculoskeletal involvement, pitfalls in diagnosis and adequate clinical response with timely diagnosis and appropriate surgical management.
Abscess ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Burkholderia pseudomallei* ; Burkholderia* ; Ceftazidime ; Debridement ; Diagnosis ; Doxycycline ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospital Records ; Humans ; Melioidosis ; Musculoskeletal System ; Osteomyelitis ; Recurrence ; Synovitis ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination

Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a gram-negative saprophyte bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is endemic to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. It mostly infects adults with predisposing conditions, mainly diabetes mellitus. The lung is the most commonly affected organ. The spectrum of melioidois in human varies from subclinical to overwhelming protean manifestations resembling other acute and chronic bacterial infections. We report herein a case of septicemia and septic pneumonia due to Burkholderia pseudomallei in 47-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who has history of traveling to Malaysia. This is the first report of melioidosis in Korea.
Adult ; Asia, Southeastern ; Australia ; Bacterial Infections ; Burkholderia pseudomallei* ; Burkholderia* ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Malaysia ; Melioidosis ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia* ; Sepsis*

Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a gram-negative saprophyte bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is endemic to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. It mostly infects adults with predisposing conditions, mainly diabetes mellitus. The lung is the most commonly affected organ. The spectrum of melioidois in human varies from subclinical to overwhelming protean manifestations resembling other acute and chronic bacterial infections. We report herein a case of septicemia and septic pneumonia due to Burkholderia pseudomallei in 47-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who has history of traveling to Malaysia. This is the first report of melioidosis in Korea.
Adult ; Asia, Southeastern ; Australia ; Bacterial Infections ; Burkholderia pseudomallei* ; Burkholderia* ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Malaysia ; Melioidosis ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia* ; Sepsis*