The Laboratory Diagnosis of Melioidosis in a Korean Patient

ABSTRACT

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a gram-negative opportunistic intracellular pathogen that causes an acute and fatal septicemic melioidosis in humans. The organism is mainly found in Southeastern Asia and Northern Australia. Recently, we encountered a case of melioidosis in a Korean patient and performed the laboratory diagnosis of melioidosis. As a result, a gram negative bacterium was isolated from a melioidosis patient, and it was identified as B. pseudomallei on DNA sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA with 99.9% homology and biochemical examination of VITEK gram-negative identification card. Also, DNA from cultured bacteria was tested in multiplex PCR, a 245 bp fragment amplified from the metalloprotease gene and a fragment of variable size ranging from 400~700 bp resulting from amplification of the 10 bp repetitive element for B. pseudomallei were confirmed after electrophoresis. The bacterium was sensitive to ceftazidime, imipenem and meropenem but resistant to ticarcillin. So far, there are no domestic cases of melioidosis in Korea, however, due to the increase in international travelers, the incidence of melioidosis is likely to increase. We report a recent case of melioidosis in a Korean patient.