Progress in research of glanders and melioidosis vaccines

Abstract

Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei belong to Pseudomonas, and are the causative agents of glanders and melioidosis, respectively, epidemic to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia,and sporadic cases have been reported from China, North America and other areas. Together with their readily accessibility, resistance to many common antibiotics, high rate of infectivity via aerosols and lack of effective vaccine make them potential candidates for bioweaponization, and both bacteria have been classified as category B priority pathogens by the US NIH and US CDC. The glanders and melioidosis vaccines are developed in many countries, but the vaccine research has been beset with difficulties due to the specificity of the pathogens. At present, antibody to lipopolysaccharide is proved to be effective in protection against the pathogens, but the efficacy of pili, outer membrane proteins and type Ⅲ secretion system subunit vaccines is unsatisfactory. This review summarizes the progress in research of glanders and melioidosis vaccines. Key words: Burkholderia pseudomallei; Burkholderia mallei; Vaccines