Cutaneous melioidosis in a man who was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese during World War II

Abstract

Melioidosis, an infection caused by the gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei, is endemic to Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Human infection is acquired through contact with contaminated water via percutaneous inoculation. Clinical manifestations range from skin and soft tissue infection to pneumonia with sepsis. We report a case of a man who was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese during World War II who presented with a nonhealing ulcer on his right hand 62 years after the initial exposure.

FIG. 1.

(A) An ulcerated nodule on the right metacarpal joint of the patient, measuring 2 by 3 cm; (B) film showing the right hand with severe osteoarthritis of distal interphalangeal joints, unchanged since 1996 (C) chest X ray showing mild basilar interstitial lung disease.