Level of Event –  Institutional; Faculty of Medicine; Guest Lecture

Background / Introduction : Melioidosis is one of the serious diseases of the region of North Australia, South East Asia, including the
Indian Subcontinent. The disease is caused by a Gram negative bacilli, Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is
an environmental pathogen commonly found in soil, water bodies of coastal or marshy areas.
The clinical spectrum of illness range from pulmonary infections, wound infections, septicemia and
complicated CNS infections. A strong clinical suspicion and a robust diagnostic modalities help in early
diagnosis of this dreaded illness, thereby prompt initiation of correct management can mitigate the suffering,
and provide an extended quality of life to the patients.

Venue: William Osler Hall, First Floor, SDUMC, SDUAHER

Sponsors: SDUAHER

Inauguration: Presided by Dr. Parimala. S, Head of the Department, and the Speaker was
introduced by Dr. S. Muralidharan, Professor of Microbiology.

Speaker: Dr. Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay is a distinguished Clinical Microbiologist, and Infectious
Disease Consultant from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. He is also the Director of the Manipal
Institute of Virology, MAHE—recognized as the ICMR Coordinating Center of Excellence (ICMR-
CCOE).
He is a leading expert on Melioidosis, and currently serves as the coordinator of the Center for
Emerging and Tropical Diseases and holds the esteemed Dr. T M A Pai Endowment Chair.
Chairperson
Dr. Parimala. S, Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology
Organizing Secretary: Dr. Sarumathi. D
Joint Organising Secretary : Dr. Sulaiman Sharieff
Assisted by Faculty members and Postgraduates.

Participants & Delegates – 41 members present in person, 2 people participated online Attendance sheet shared as Annexure 1.

Brief lecture notes and discussion
The speaker initiated the lecture by describing “Melioidosis”: the history, the epidemiology and
etiopathogenesis of the disease. He explained how Agriculture, Soil exposures, Recreational
activities, Diabetes mellitus, etc could be significant risk factors for the development of this
infection. He also explained about how the belt of Northern Australia, South East Asia, including
India could be the epicenter of a globally recognized problem.
He stressed on the clinical profiles and variations in clinical presentations of the disease, with
elaborate illustrations of clinical cases, and diagnostic modalities. He emphasized the need for
robust microbiological services, such as blood cultures and also enlightened on new knowledge in
early recognition of this infection. This was followed by a discussion on therapeutic management,
and prevention aspects of the disease.
The academicians in the audience were pleased to put forth their queries. These include questions
related to serological tests for early recognition, CNS manifestations of the disease, especially about
the severity and complications of infections in the brain. Lastly the alternatives to Co-trimoxazole in
chemo-prophylaxis of this disease was also discussed.

Valedictory
Dr. Sulaiman Sharieff delivered the Vote of Thanks.
The event was concluded by thanking all the administrators, resource faculty, supporting staff and
participants by Dr. Parimala. S

Highlights of Events including Photos :
Photos have been shared separately, as jpeg format, and as Annexure 2