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Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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In this Article

• What is melioidosis? What causes melioidosis?
• Where does melioidosis occur?
• What are symptoms of melioidosis?
• How is melioidosis diagnosed?
• How is melioidosis treated?
• Can melioidosis be prevented?
• What is the prognosis for melioidosis?
• Melioidosis At A Glance
• Melioidosis Index

The diagnosis of melioidosis is made with a microscopic evaluation of a blood, urine, sputum, or skin-lesion sample in the laboratory. A blood test is useful to detect early acute cases of melioidosis, but it can not exclude the illness if it is negative.

The treatment of melioidosis involves antibiotics and depends on the location of the disease.

For patients with more mild illness, the CDC recommends antibiotics such as imipenem, penicillin, doxycycline, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftazidime, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, and aztreonam. Patients who are more severely ill are given a combination of two of the above for up to 12 months.

With pulmonary involvement of melioidosis, if cultures remain positive for six months, surgical removal of the lung abscess with lobectomy is considered.

In counties where melioidosis occurs, people with compromised immune systems (such as AIDS, cancer, those undergoing chemotherapy, etc.) should avoid contact with soil and contaminated water, especially in farm areas.