Seroprevalence of melioidosis in diabetic patients in Taiwan

Diabetes mellitus is a major predisposing factor for Burkholderia pseudomallei infection. This study surveyed serum samples from 356 Taiwanese patients with diabetes mellitus for anti-flagellin antibodies against B. pseudomallei. Antibody titer to B. pseudomallei was positive in 3.0% (11/365) of diabetes mellitus patients. All seropositive individuals were aged > or =60, indicating that elderly and diabetic adults are at high risk of B. pseudomallei infection. In this study, diabetic females, who were usually housewives, had a seropositive rate of 81.1%. However, the incidence of melioidosis in males (usually working outdoors) was 93.7% based on clinical cases. We suggest that exposure of males and females to B. pseudomallei in this study was via different routes of infection.