Melioidosis and bilateral third-nerve palsies.
Central nervous system involvement in melioidosis is unusual. We describe a 34-year-old man who developed a Pseudomonas pseudomallei meningitis, manifested as bilateral third-nerve palsies, 13 years after having been in southeast Asia. Diagnosis was established by a fourfold rise in the serum antibody titer for the bacterium. Recovery occurred after treatment with rifampin, isoniazid hydrochloride, ethambutol, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Since a long latent period from exposure to overt infection is possible, additional cases of melioidosis in the United States can still be expected in veterans of the Vietnam War.
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008554:Melioidosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D009886:Ophthalmoplegia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis