Introduction: melioidosis, an infection caused by the environmental Gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei, has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Sources of data: a review of the literature using PubMed. Areas of agreement: approaches to diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy. Areas of controversy: whether seroconversion signals the presence of a quiescent bacterial focus and an increase in long-term risk of melioidosis. ...