TY - JOUR
T1 - Melioidosis in Travelers
T2 - Review of the Literature
AU - Dan, Michael
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 International Society of Travel Medicine.
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - Background Melioidosis is a bacterial infection endemic essentially in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. In temperate areas, the infection is extremely rare and is almost always imported by travelers or immigrants. The infection may affect almost any organ in the body, with various degrees of severity. Methods We reviewed the literature on melioidosis in travelers. For this purpose we searched PubMed and Google for relevant articles up to July 2015. Results We have identified 72 cases of melioidosis in travelers published in the literature. Melioidosis in travelers was acquired mostly in Thailand (46% of cases). The mean duration of stay in the endemic area was 36days (range 7-330days). Symptoms usually started at 23days (range 1-360days) after leaving the endemic area. The clinical presentation was varied, sepsis being the most common (34%) followed by pneumonia (29%) and abscess formation (25%). Melioidosis in travelers was less often associated with predisposing risk factors (37.5%), diabetes mellitus being the most common (21%), and had lower mortality (17%) than had the infection in autochthonous cases in Southeast Asia. Conclusions Melioidosis in travelers has its own characteristics, which distinguish it from other autochthonous diseases in indigenous populations. The possibility of melioidosis should be considered not only in patients originating from endemic areas, but also in patients returning from travel in those regions.
AB - Background Melioidosis is a bacterial infection endemic essentially in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. In temperate areas, the infection is extremely rare and is almost always imported by travelers or immigrants. The infection may affect almost any organ in the body, with various degrees of severity. Methods We reviewed the literature on melioidosis in travelers. For this purpose we searched PubMed and Google for relevant articles up to July 2015. Results We have identified 72 cases of melioidosis in travelers published in the literature. Melioidosis in travelers was acquired mostly in Thailand (46% of cases). The mean duration of stay in the endemic area was 36days (range 7-330days). Symptoms usually started at 23days (range 1-360days) after leaving the endemic area. The clinical presentation was varied, sepsis being the most common (34%) followed by pneumonia (29%) and abscess formation (25%). Melioidosis in travelers was less often associated with predisposing risk factors (37.5%), diabetes mellitus being the most common (21%), and had lower mortality (17%) than had the infection in autochthonous cases in Southeast Asia. Conclusions Melioidosis in travelers has its own characteristics, which distinguish it from other autochthonous diseases in indigenous populations. The possibility of melioidosis should be considered not only in patients originating from endemic areas, but also in patients returning from travel in those regions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945441089&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jtm.12236
DO - 10.1111/jtm.12236
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C2 - 26503093
AN - SCOPUS:84945441089
SN - 1195-1982
VL - 22
SP - 410
EP - 414
JO - Journal of Travel Medicine
JF - Journal of Travel Medicine
IS - 6
ER -