The characteristics and clinical course of patients with melioidosis and cancer.

Background: Patients with an active cancer are more likely to develop melioidosis, but the characteristics and clinical course of melioidosis in patients with cancer have not been examined in detail. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prophylaxis is prescribed to prevent melioidosis in patients receiving immune suppressing anti-cancer therapy in some jurisdictions-and is recommended in national Australian guidelines-however the risks and benefits of this strategy are incompletely defined.

Methods: The study took place in Far North Queensland (FNQ) in tropical Australia.