Melioidosis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the soil-dwelling bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. Patients present with a range of clinical syndromes including pneumonia, sepsis and abscesses, and the in-hospital mortality is 40% in Thailand. Melioidosis is endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia but it is widespread across the tropics and a recent estimate puts the annual global death toll at 89,000 which is higher than Dengue.

After this talk, Professor Peter Horby will provide an update on the emerging Zika virus infection.