Saravu, Kavitha and Mukhopadhyay, C and Vishwanath, S and Valsalan, Rohith and Docherla, M and Vandana, KE and Shastry, BA and Bairy, Indira and Rao, SP (2010) Melioidosis in Southern India: Epidemiological and Clinical Profile. SOUTHEAST ASIAN J TROP MED PUBLIC HEALTH, 41 (2). pp. 401-409.

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Abstract

Melioidosis, which is mainly prevalent in Thailand and Australia, has shown an increasing trend in India in the last few years. We carried out a retrospective study of 25 culture-proven adult cases of melioidosis who were admitted to a tertiary care hospital in southern India during June 2001 to September 2007. There was a six-fold increase in the number of cases in 2006 and 2007 as compared to 2001. Diabetes mellitus was the predisposing factor in 68% of cases, followed by alcoholism (28%). The clinical presentations were fever (80%), pneumonia and/ or pleural effusion (48%), hepatomegaly (56%), joint involvement, and/or osteomyelitis (48%), splenomegaly (40%), splenic abscess (24%) and septicemia (28%). The organism, Burkholderia pseudomallei, was sensitive to co-amoxiclav, cotrimoxazole, ceftazidime, and carbapenem. The study suggests that melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease in the southwestern coastal belt of India, and it is likely to happen at much higher incidence.

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