Acute, Chronic, and Latent Infection with (Re)Activation Melioidosis

Abstract

Melioidosis can present as an acute as well as chronic disease and can be fatal. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most common risk factors for acquiring this infectious disease.We present a case of a 36-year-old diabetic male patient who presented in March 2022 with acute severe melioidosis and later developed chronic melioidosis. He did not take complete treatment and presented again in January 2023 with features of Latent infection with reactivation. The blood and pus culture showed positive results for Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei). The use of granulocyte colony-stimulating Factor (G-CSF) in addition to antimicrobial treatment with meropenem and later ceftazidime therapy played an effective role in the recovery of the patient. In this case report we present the acute and chronic manifestations with which he reported along with management of the case, review the literature on the impaired immunity in type 2 diabetic patient in melioidosis, latent infection with (re)activation, the suggested role of G-CSF and antimicrobial therapy.