Co-isolation of genetically distinct Burkholderia pseudomallei strains from a single patient in North Queensland

While investigating colony morphology variation within clinical isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) isolated from a single clinical infection, we identified two distinct strains (based on their multi-locus sequence type) from Bp TSV292. Reports of simultaneous co-infection are un-common, with only two studies in Thailand documenting such cases: (1) 2 out of 133 cases, and (2) 13 out of 59 patients infected with two to three polyclonal Bp strains exhibiting different genotypes. Here, we present the first comprehensive multi-omics characterization of co-infecting Bpstrains isolated from a single infection at a hospital in Townsville, Australia, in 2018. This finding impacts the design of future diagnosis and treatment of Bp.