Vaccine Development Against Melioidosis

Abstract

Melioidosis in an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Melioidosis is often considered a disease of the tropics, but recent data suggests that B. pseudomallei is distributed worldwide and the disease is likely largely underestimated. B. pseudomallei is inherently resistant to many antibiotics, which complicates treatment, particularly in low-resource countries. There is currently no licensed vaccine to prevent melioidosis. Fortunately, there has been significant progress over the last decade in our understanding of B. pseudomallei pathogenesis and host immunity. This has been paralleled by the discovery and testing of promising vaccine candidates against melioidosis. Collectively, these scientific advances spark optimism that licensure of a safe and effective vaccine is achievable.