Jan 12, 2016 11:18 AM EST By Rashmi Kalia, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new study, led by experts at Oxford University, reveals that India is among countries at high risk from melioidosis, a disease that mimics other and is difficult to diagnose without a microbiology laboratory, Hindustan Times report.

'Although melioidosis has been recognised for more than 100 years, awareness of it is still low, even among medical and laboratory staff in cionfirmed endemic areas,' said study co-author Dr. Direk Limmathurotsakul, Head of Microbiology at MORU and Assistant Professor at Mahidol University (Thailand), University of Oxford reports.

'We predict that the burden of this disease us likely to increase in the future because the incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing and the movements of people and animals could lead to the establishment of new endemic areas.'

The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Microbiology.

"Our study predicts high infection rates in countries like India and Vietnam, where the disease is gradually being recognised more frequently," said Direk Limmathurotsakul, co-author of the study.

The study reported that the disease is already present in 79 countries, including 34 countries that have never reported it. The study predicted that there would be a rise in the number of people infected with the disease as the number of diabetes cases also increases, especially among the poor.

High-risk melioidosis groups include patients with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease or excessive alcohol intake.

"Melioidosis is a great mimicker of other diseases and you need a good microbiology laboratory for bacterial culture and identification to make an accurate diagnosis," Limmathurotsakul said.

"It especially affects the rural poor in the tropics who often do not have access to microbiology labs, which means that it has been greatly under estimated as an important public health problem across the world."

The disease, melioidosis, is caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a highly pathogenic bacterium commonly found in soil and water in South and Southeast Asia and northern Australia.

The study estimated that melioidosis killed 89,000 of the 165,000 people who got it in 2015.

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