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. 2025 Oct 5:2025:7148191.
doi: 10.1155/ijm/7148191. eCollection 2025.

Burkholderia pseudomallei in Colombia: Laboratory Approaches to Enhance Diagnostic Accuracy

Soraya Morales-Lopez  1   2   3 , Yeneiris Villero Wolf  2 , Deyner Lechuga  2 , Luis Caicedo  2 , Yiceth Acosta Triana  4 , Liliana Gomez  5 , Luis Rodrigo Ramirez  1 , Leandro Narvaez  6 , Heidy Pinzon  7 , Kelin Esquea  8 , Rafael Barros  9 , Pedro Martinez Ramos  10 , Adriana Marin  11 , Claudia Marcela Parra  12
Affiliations

Burkholderia pseudomallei in Colombia: Laboratory Approaches to Enhance Diagnostic Accuracy

Soraya Morales-Lopez et al. Int J Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: Melioidosis is a challenging disease to diagnose, and diagnostic complications can delay treatment, adversely impacting patient outcomes.

Methods: Over a period of 1 year, 68 isolates, initially identified as Burkholderia spp. or oxidase-positive nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli (excluding Pseudomonas aeruginosa), were collected from laboratories in three Colombian cities. Four commercial identification systems were employed. After recovery on blood agar, all strains were cultured on Ashdown's and CHROMID Colistin R media. Comparative identification using automated systems was performed, and definitive identification was achieved through multiplex PCR.

Result: PCR identified three Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates and 59 Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates. The Microscan and Vitek 2 Compact systems successfully identified the B. pseudomallei isolates, whereas the Phoenix and MALDI-TOF Bruker systems did not. Ashdown's CHROM colistin media supported the growth of B. pseudomallei and various other genera and species. Species-level misidentifications were frequent.

Conclusion: Due to limitations of commercial identification systems and the morphological similarities between species, the use of molecular tools or a combination of confirmatory tests is crucial for accurately diagnosing B. pseudomallei in Colombia.

Keywords: Ashdown's agar; Burkholderia cepacia; Burkholderia pseudomallei; CHROMID Colistin; MALDI-TOF; Vitek 2 Compact; melioidosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) B. pseudomallei on blood agar, showing dry and wrinkled morphology after 3 days of incubation. (b) Growth of colistin-resistant isolates on CHROMagar R COL (some isolates exhibit green colonies). (c) Colony morphologies of various Burkholderia strains on Ashdown's agar. B. pseudomallei isolates (top) display a distinct metallic sheen.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Multiplex PCR detection of B. mallei, B. pseudomallei, B. thailandensis, and B. cepacia. Lanes: MP2 DNA ladder (100 bp); Lanes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10: B. cepacia complex isolates; Lanes 4, 5, and 12: B. pseudomallei isolates; Lane 8: Chryseobacterium indologenes isolate; Lane 11: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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