UKM News Official Portal

By UKM Melioidosis Research Group

BANGI, 24 Ogos 2010 - Emergence of new diseases is a real menace in the third world. During the past 20 years, at least 30 new diseases have emerged. Many are old diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, dysentery and pneumonia and some are new of which there is no treatment, cure or vaccine as yet.

The most dramatic example of a new disease is AIDS which appeared only about 20 years ago, but it has since infected an estimated 24 million adults worldwide.

Here in Malaysia in recent months many have been perplexed with the appearance of yet another disease. This time it is melioidosis. Many are desperately asking: what is melioidosis? What is its origin and why has it almost suddenly become so notorious and deadly? Is this a new breed of disease causing agent?

The reasons for the recent outbreaks of melioidosis in Malaysia are still not fully understood. The fact is it has now become a national health challenge.

It should trigger a political will to curb the spread of melioidosis in the future through improved diagnosis, treatment and management. Public awareness about the disease needs to be enhanced through educational activities and community programs.

Both technical and human resources to develop and support the public health systems are necessary to detect and stop the spread of this deadly disease.

Without doubt, continued research funding to our own scientists must be increased and expanded into strategic and futuristic aspects of the diseases that can lead to its better management.

It might be a surprise to many Malaysians that much is already known about melioidosis; a disease caused by Pseudomonas pseudomallei ,now known as Burkholderia pseudomallei . Although, the disease was first reported in 1912 in 38 fatal cases of pneumonia amongst the destitute and morphine addicts in Rangoon, Burma, (now Yangon Myanmar) a great deal of our subsequent information on melioidosis was discovered in Malaysia or Malaya then.

In 1913 Fletcher documented the occurrence of a similar disease described in Burmese drug addicts in laboratory animals at the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was followed by another report of human infection in 1917 from Kuala Lumpur resulting in a short monograph on the disease and its sporadic occurrence in Malaya up to 1932.

Research on this little known disease was again actively pursued in Malaysia in the 1960’s by scientists and students at research institutes and the newly established Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Over the years, our researchers have published voluminous information providing better understanding of melioidosis.

Academics and students from our own universities have probed the disease through a multitude of scientific enquiries including the basic microbiology, pathogenesis, host defenses and epidemiology of the disease.

A team was set up at UKM which began their investigations into the pathogenesis of melioidosis as early as 1977 at its temporary campus in Jalan Pantai, Kuala Lumpur. This has led to our understanding of how the bacteria is capable of causing the disease at the molecular level.

Today, researchers at UKM and USM are unraveling the disease at the genetic level through identification of virulence factors determined by its genomic constituents. At Universiti Malaya, another team has been looking at the clinical manifestation of melioidosis; significantly contributing in its diagnosis, treatment, prevention and reduction in mortality.

Melioidosis is an old disease that has become endemic in the tropical regions of the world. Today, it seems to have spread to non-endemic areas.

Research scientists in Malaysia have long realised that a better understanding of melioidosis is essential because it is life-threatening and if untreated, patients can succumb to it.

Although the bacillus bacteria can cause disease in horses, sheep, goats, pigs, lambs, cows and other animals, its increasing importance in human infections has attracted much interest in recent years.

It is mainly widespread in Southeast Asia with most human cases reported in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. In Thailand 2000 to 3000 new cases are diagnosed every year.

In Malaysia, exposure to the bacteria B pseudomallei is high according to serological studies: 17-22% in farmers who are mainly rice farmers and 26% in blood donors.


B. pseudomallei is a natural inhabitant of soil and water in the tropics. It is ever-present in wet or damp areas such as rice-farming areas, rubber plantations, cleared forest areas, cultivated and irrigated agricultural sites as well as drains and ditches.

Hence, the bacteria can be transmitted within the population via several established modes including inhalation, ingestion or inoculation through the skin lesions from the contaminated soil. Person-to-person transmission of B. pseudomallei is also common. –

The Group consists of  Prof Rahmah Mohamed, Prof Datuk Mohamed Noor Embi, Prof Dr Sheila Nathan,Dr  Mohd Firdaus M. Raih, Dr Amir Rabu and Prof Dr Ghazally Ismail.