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Review
. 2018 Apr 9;3(2):40.
doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed3020040.

Melioidosis in Bangladesh: A Clinical and Epidemiological Analysis of Culture-Confirmed Cases

Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury  1   2   3   4 , Md Shariful Alam Jilani  5 , Lovely Barai  6 , Tanjila Rahman  7 , Mili Rani Saha  8 , Md Robed Amin  9 , Kaniz Fatema  10 , K M Shahidul Islam  11 , M A Faiz  12   13 , Susanna J Dunachie  14   15   16 , David A B Dance  17   18   19
Affiliations
Review

Melioidosis in Bangladesh: A Clinical and Epidemiological Analysis of Culture-Confirmed Cases

Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury et al. Trop Med Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Melioidosis is known to occur in Bangladesh, but there are few reports about the condition in the published international literature. We set out to review all known cases of melioidosis in the country to date, using both retrospective and prospective data. A web-based literature search was conducted to identify all published case reports, original articles and conference abstracts. Cases were also included from a prospective study conducted in 2017. Fifty-one cases were identified between 1961 and 2017. Cases have been reported from sixteen out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh. The median age of the patients at presentation was 45 years (IQR 37⁻52), with a significant male (77%) predominance. Many patients (14/39; 36%) were farmers and 83% had diabetes mellitus. A skin/soft tissue abscess was the most common primary clinical presentation (13/49; 27%), followed by septic arthritis (10/49; 20%), pneumonia, and a deep-seated abscess/organ abscess (7/49; 14%). The major challenges to the diagnosis and treatment of melioidosis in Bangladesh are the lack of resources and the lack of awareness of melioidosis. Capacity development programs are urgently required to define the burden of disease and to tackle the mortality rates.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Burkholderia; melioidosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Choropleth map based on GIS data. The map illustrates the frequency by district of culture-confirmed cases of melioidosis (n = 46).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The monthly cases of culture-confirmed melioidosis, the average rainfall in mm, and the average temperature in degrees Celsius. Data represented from 1961 to 2015 [32].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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