Abstract
Septicemic melioidosis is often a fatal disease despite treatment with antibiotics such as ceftazidime to which Burkholderia pseudomallei is sensitive in vitro. We report a case of B. pseudomallei causing sepsis in a diabetic patient. A 62 year old diabetic farmer, referred from a peripheral hospital with high grade fever and altered sensorium. Blood culture revealed B. pseudomallei. The patient was treated with meropenemand responded well to the treatment.
Highlights
Minor wounds and abrasions are common in farmers during the planting season, and inoculation through these wounds during their occupational exposure might be the common mode of spread
Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is a gram-negative bacterium with rounded ends and bipolar staining, seen in tropical and subtropical soils and waters. It has got a high degree of virulence and strong antibiotic resistance [2,6]
A male preponderance is evident in all melioidosis case series published
Summary
The pathologist Alfred Whitmore and his assistant C. Minor wounds and abrasions are common in farmers during the planting season, and inoculation through these wounds during their occupational exposure might be the common mode of spread. Few cases have been reported from India and it is assumed to be due to lack of adequate facilities, where identification is possible [1]. Sporadic exported cases from India indicate that the disease is endemic in this region [5].
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