Protection against Experimental Melioidosis with a Synthetic manno-Heptopyranose Hexasaccharide Glycoconjugate.

Melioidosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in endemic areas. Antibiotic treatment is protracted and not always successful; even with appropriate therapy, up to 40% of individuals presenting with melioidosis in Thailand succumb to infection. In these circumstances, an effective vaccine has the potential to have a dramatic impact on both the scale and the severity of disease.

Characterization of the Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243 capsular polysaccharide I coding region.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a disease endemic to regions of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Both humans and a range of other animal species are susceptible to melioidosis, and the production of a group 3 polysaccharide capsule in B. pseudomallei is essential for virulence.