Human melioidosis reported by ProMED

•ProMED would be used to assess the reliability of the data of emerging infectious diseases, such as melioidosis.•The study evaluated the effectiveness of ProMED as a source of epidemiological data by focusing on melioidosis.•This work identified 4630 cases of melioidosis with an overall case fatality rate of 11%, mainly reported from Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia.•Although certain areas need to be improved, ProMED provided good information about melioidosis.

SummaryObjectiveThere are limited sources describing the global burden of emerging diseases. A review of human melioidosis reported by ProMED was performed and the reliability of the data retrieved assessed in comparison to published reports. The effectiveness of ProMED was evaluated as a source of epidemiological data by focusing on melioidosis.MethodsUsing the keyword ‘melioidosis’ in the ProMED search engine, all of the information from the reports and collected data was reviewed using a structured form, including the year, country, gender, occupation, number of infected individuals, and number of fatal cases.ResultsOne hundred and twenty-four entries reported between January 1995 and October 2014 were identified. A total of 4630 cases were reported, with death reported in 505 cases, suggesting a misleadingly low overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 11%. Of 20 cases for which the gender was reported, 12 (60%) were male. Most of the cases were reported from Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia, with sporadic reports from other countries.ConclusionsInternet-based reporting systems such as ProMED are useful to gather information and synthesize knowledge on emerging infections. Although certain areas need to be improved, ProMED provided good information about melioidosis.