A Fatal Case Of Persistent Burkholderia Pseudomallei Bacteraemia With Severe Pneumonia And Splenic Abscess

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes melioidosis. Melioidosis is a potentially fatal disease that is endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and is being increasingly recognized in other regions worldwide. Melioidosis can affect any organ system and present with a wide range of clinical manifestations including pneumonia, bone, skin/soft tissue, or central nervous system infections. In this report, we describe a diabetic farmer who succumbed to persistent B. pseudomallei bacteraemia with multiorgan involvement despite treatment with meropenem and ceftazidime.

Keywords: Necrotizing pneumonia; Splenic abscesses; Melioidosis; Burkholderia pseudomallei.