From chronic abscess to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): A case of recurrent melioidosis in Sri Lanka

Melioidosis is caused by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei and may recur months after apparent cure with fatal consequences. We report a previously healthy 31-year-old man with incompletely treated bacteraemic melioidosis who presented eight months later with recurrent chest wall abscess and fulminant pneumonia progressing to ARDS and death despite aggressive treatment.