ABSTRACT
Clinical and pathological manifestations of melioidosis in man and animals are varied, the subclinical form of melioidosis is most common in animals whilst the acute septicaemic form of the disease resulted in high mortality in humans. Pseudomonas pseudomallei, a Gram-negative soil bacterium found in Asia and tropical Australia is the causative organism of melioidosis. Clinical and pathological manifestations of melioidosis in man and animals are varied, the subclinical form of melioidosis is most common in animals whilst the acute septicaemic form of the disease resulted in high mortality in humans. Slight inhibition of protein synthesis was observed at the higher concentration of the exotoxin. The inhibitory effect of the exotoxin on cell-free protein synthesis was only apparent when exotoxin was initially subjected to limited digestion with trypsin or endogenous protease. The role of the exotoxin in melioidosis has been directly established, however its involvement has been suggested in experiments using laboratory animals.
