Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative bacillus found in soil and water, is the causative agent for melioidosis which is endemic in Southeast Asian countries and Northern Australia.1 While B. pseudomallei is highly virulent in man and animals, other members of this family of bacteria, like Burkholderia thailandensis are avirulent.
The human immunopathogenesis of melioi-dosis is not completely understood. There are re-ports on increased levels of a number of proinflam-matory cytokines and chemokines, suggesting that these mediators may be involved in the pathogenesis of melioidosis1. One of those proinflammatory cyto-kines produced by a subset of T cells distinct from T helper-type 1 or –type 2 cells2 and involved in the host defense against bacterial infections3 is IL-17.