| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Burkholderia pseudomallei</it>, the etiologic agent of melioidosis, is endemic to tropic regions, mainly in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Melioidosis occurs only sporadically in travellers returning from disease-endemic areas. Severe clinical disease is seen mostly in patients with alteration of immune status. In particular, pericardial effusion occurs in 1-3% of patients with melioidosis, confined to endemic regions. To our best knowledge, this is the first reported case of melioidosis in a traveller complicated by a hemodynamically significant pericardial effusion without predisposing disease.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 44-year-old Caucasian man developed pneumonia, with bilateral pleural effusions and complicated by a hemodynamically significant pericardial effusion, soon after his return from Thailand to Switzerland. Cultures from different specimens including blood cultures turned out negative. Diagnosis was only accomplished by isolation of <it>Burkholderia pseudomallei</it> from the pericardial aspirate, thus finally enabling the adequate antibiotic treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Melioidosis is a great mimicker and physicians in non-endemic countries should be aware of its varied manifestations. In particular, melioidosis should be considered in differential diagnosis of pericardial effusion in travellers , even without risk factors predisposing to severe disease.</p>
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