Melioidosis Presenting as Splenic Abscess: A Case Report

Abstract

AbstractMelioidosis is an infectious disease caused by Gram-negative bacilli Burkholderia pseudomallei. Infection is acquired by direct exposure through broken skin, inhalation, or ingestion of the bacterium. Melioidosis has a wide variety of clinical presentations, ranging from an asymptomatic infection or localized cutaneous manifestations at the site of the entry, deep-seated abscess, to multiple organ involvement with sepsis leading to death. Although not uncommon, there is a lack of awareness of its variable presentation leading to a delay in the diagnosis and thus treatment. The diagnosis of melioidosis rests on the culture of the organism from biological samples. Presentation as a splenic abscess is rather rare and a high index of suspicion is needed for the diagnosis. In this article, we report an interesting case of recurrent splenic abscess which was eventually diagnosed to be due to melioidosis.