7. ª×èÍàÃ×èͧ:
                  EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BURKHOLDERIA PSEUDOMALLEI IN THEAILAND
    ª×èͼÙéÇÔ¨ÑÂ:
                                                   VARAPORN VUDDHAKUL1, PRASIT THARAVICHITKU2, NARISORN NA-
                                                    NGAM3, SIROJ JITSURONG2, BANYOUNG KUNTHAWA1, PITAK NOIMAY2,

PANPETH NOIMAY4, ANUCHIT BINLA1, AND VISANU THAMLIKITKUL5
             1Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, and Department of Pathology, Faculty of

Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkla, Thailand
            2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang-Mai University, Chiang-Mai,
           2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang-Mai University, Chiang-Mai,
                                             Thailand
3Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Department of

Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khonkaen University, Khonkaen, Thailand

4Department of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
   µÕ¾ÔÁ¾ì: Am.J.Trop.Med.Hyg. 1999. 60 (3): 458-461.
Abstract
The distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in soil collected from four regions of
Thailand and the frequency of B.pseudomallei infections in patients attending government
hospitals throughout Thailand in 1997 were surveyed. A total of 3,585 soil samples collected
from 896 sites in four regions of Thailand were cultured for B.pseudomallei using selective
enrichment broth and modified Ashdown’s agar. The organism was recovered in 4.4%, 6.1%,
20.4%, and 5.9% of the soil samples collected from the northern, central, northeastern, and
southern regions, respectively, of Thailand (P<0.0001). Burkholderia pseudomallei was cultured
from 50.1% of the sites in the northeastern region compared with 13.8%, 24.5%, and 18.4% in the
northern, central, and southern regions, respectively (P<0.0001). The infection rate in patients
attending government hospitals in the northeastern region (137.9 per 100,000 inpatients) was
significantly higher than those in the northern (18 per 100,000 inpatients), central (13.4 per
100,000 inpatients), and southern (14.4 per 100,000 inpatients) regions, respectively (P<0.0001).
It is suggested that melioidosis, which is endemic in Thailand, is associated with the presence of

. pseudomallei in soil.