Melioidosis, also called Whitmore's disease, is an infectious disease that can infect humans or animals. The disease is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia ...SkipdirectlytositecontentSkipdirectlytopageoptionsSkipdirectlytoA-ZlinkMelioidosisSectionNavigationCDCHomeFacebookTwitterLinkedInSyndicateMelioidosisMinusRelatedPagesMelioidosis,alsocalledWhitmore’sdisease,isaninfectiousdiseasethatcaninfecthumansoranimals.ThediseaseiscausedbythebacteriumBurkholderiapseudomallei.Itispredominatelyadiseaseoftropicalclimates,especiallyinSoutheastAsiaandnorthernAustraliawhereitiswidespread.Thebacteriacausingmelioidosisarefoundincontaminatedwaterandsoil.Itisspreadtohumansandanimalsthroughdirectcontactwiththecontaminatedsource.TransmissionSignsandSymptomsTreatmentPreventionRiskofExposureBioterrorismForHealthcareWorkersForPublicHealthPlannersRelatedResourcesSubmissionofLaboratorySpecimensManagementofAccidentalLaboratoryExposureTravelers’Health–MelioidosisPagelastreviewed:June29,2021Contentsource:CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforEmergingandZoonoticInfectiousDiseases(NCEZID),DivisionofHigh-ConsequencePathogensandPathology(DHCPP)homeMelioidosisTransmissionSignsandSymptomsRiskofExposureTreatmentPreventionForHealthcareWorkersBioterrorismexpandTheThreatPreparednessDetection&ResponseBioterrorismResponsePlanningexpandCommunity-BasedPlanningPublicHealthResponseActivitiesHealthcareResponseActivitiesFacebookTwitterLinkedInSASstatsExitNotification/DisclaimerPolicyCloseLinkswiththisiconindicatethatyouareleavingtheCDCwebsite.TheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)cannotattesttotheaccuracyofanon-federalwebsite.Linkingtoanon-federalwebsitedoesnotconstituteanendorsementbyCDCoranyofitsemployeesofthesponsorsortheinformationandproductspresentedonthewebsite.Youwillbesubjecttothedestinationwebsite'sprivacypolicywhenyoufollowthelink.CDCisnotresponsibleforSection508compliance(accessibility)onotherfederalorprivatewebsite.FormoreinformationonCDC'swebnotificationpolicies,seeWebsiteD