Melioidosis: sources and potential.

For a long time Whitmore’s disease was thought to be an occasional interesting clinical entity in man in Southeast Asia. However, recent events are forcing a change in outlook. Melioidosis is an important disease among troops in Viet Nam.’ The case-fatality rate is high; the organism is resistant to antibiotic treatment, and many soldiers return to the U.S. to be hospitalized for long periods with a disease usually resembling pulmonary tuberculosis.