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Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, needs more funding for scientific research and healthcare. Melioidosis infects approximately 165,000 people each year and kills 90,000 (Chen, 2016; Dunachie et al., 2017; Morici et al., 2019). Death rates can go up to 70%, and the caseload creates a healthcare burden equivalent to that of rabies (Chen, 2016). The number of deaths is roughly the same as that of measles, and several times that of dengue (Chen, 2016; Mukhopadhyay et al., 2018). In addition, recurrence of the disease occurs in 9% of patients (Stone et al., 2014). The disease is caused by the gram-negative and rod-shaped bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei which is found in contaminated soil and water. It is predominantly a disease of tropical climates, existing twenty degrees north and south of the equator (CDC, 2021; Pandey et al., 2010). It is widespread and can be found spanning Australia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America (CDC, 2021; Morici et al., 2019). It is present in as many as eighty-two countries (Morici et al., 2019). It is capable of infecting both animals and humans (CDC, 2021). The disease was initially recognized by British pathologist, Alfred Whitmore, and his research assistant, Krishnaswami while working in Myanmar in 1911 (Mukhopadhyay et al., 2018; Pandey et al., 2010). 

Melioidosis is transmitted to humans and animals through inhalation, ingestion, and inoculation through direct contact with skin abrasions. There is also the possibility that it can be transmitted sexually, but there is no definitive proof. The disease can be passed perinatally from mother to infant (CDC, 2021; Cheng and Currie, 2005). It is extremely rare for the disease to be transferred from person to person or from animal to human (Lipsitz et al., 2010). 

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