Tuberculosis or Melioidosis? - Look Twice in Southwestern Coastal India

Melioidosis is known endemic in many Southeast Asian countries, especially Thailand, and in Northern ？Australia. The disease was long considered under-recognized in India but has now gained the status ？of emerging infectious disease here. Increasing isolation of the causitive agent B. pseudomallei is ？encountered in the recent years from this part of western coastal India. We report one such case ？of pulmonary melioidosis in an elderly patient misdiagnosed as tuberculosis ending fatally. Prompt ？microbiological diagnosis prevents the unnecessary Anti-TB treatment or prophylaxis. This was also our ？first of isolation of B. pseudomallei from endotracheal aspirate. SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS; 2012; IX(2) 15-18 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/saarctb.v9i2.7973