Present and future therapeutic strategies for melioidosis and glanders

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei are the causative agents of melioidosis and glanders, respectively. Both Gram-negative pathogens are endemic in many parts of the world. Although natural acquisition of these pathogens is rare in the majority of countries, these bacteria have recently gained much interest because of their potential as bioterrorism agents. In modern times, their potential destructive impact on public health has escalated owing to the ability of these pathogens to cause opportunistic infections in diabetic and perhaps otherwise immunocompromised people, two growing populations worldwide. For both pathogens, severe infection in humans carries a high mortality rate, both species are recalcitrant to antibiotic therapy - B. pseudomallei more so than B. mallei - and no licensed vaccine exists for either prophylactic or therapeutic use. The potential malicious use of these organisms has accelerated the investigation of new ways to prevent and to treat the diseases. The availability of several B. pseudomallei and B. mallei genome sequences has greatly facilitated target identification and development of new therapeutics. This review provides a compilation of literature covering studies in antimelioidosis and antiglanders antimicrobial drug discovery, with a particular focus on potential novel therapeutic approaches to combat these diseases.

Figure 1

Comparative activities of B- and C-class CpGs administered 48 h prior to infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei BALB/c mice were inoculated with 2.4 × 10³ colony-forming units of strain K96243 per mouse via the intranasal route.

Figure 2

Bacterial loads in various tissues at 28 days postinfection with Burkholderia pseudomallei.