A case report on melioidosis: A rare mimicker of tuberculosis

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a saprophytic pathogen causing Whitmore's disease or Melioidosis. 1It can cause vertebral osteitis, abscess, pneumoniae, septicaemia, arthritis etc. It is a great mimicker of pulmonary as well as vertebral Tuberculosis. Southeast Asia and Australia report most of the cases. In India, the cases have been reported mostly from the coastal belt of southern states. We report the case of a 60-year-old agriculture worker with Type 2 diabetes, with lumbago and fever 1 month, initially misdiagnosed as spinal tuberculosis, presented with cold abscess. B. pseudomallei was isolated from the drained abscess. He recovered fully following treatment with Cotrimoxazole and Ceftazidime.