Melioidosis masquerading as enteric fever

Summary: Melioidosis is endemic in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, but it has been rarely reported from India. Recent reports have shown that melioidosis is an emerging infection in this part of the world, but enteric fever is more commonly seen in India. We present a 50-year-old male with diabetes who presented with acute onset of febrile illness. Preliminary investigations were suggestive of enteric fever, and he showed a partial response to parenteral ceftriaxone; however, it later turned out that he had melioidosis. The widal titres were persistently elevated even following treatment with meropenem.