Melioidosis is a tropical disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei and is a major problem facing rural Thai communities, specifically in the Northeastern, Eastern, and Central areas of Thailand. The mortality rate in these communities is over 40%.  Two main factors contribute to this high mortality rate. The first is the difficult in properly diagnosing melioidosis. First, the disease is difficult to diagnose accurately and promptly. Current diagnostic methods rely on bacterial culture, which can take several days and has a sensitivity of only 60%. Second, access to antimicrobial drugs is often limited, and treatment is typically delayed, the administration of the drug only happens after a positive bacterial culture is confirmed.  This has been shown to correlate with decreased patient outcomes. , a delay associated with poorer patient outcomes. Together these issues accelerate the need for a rapid, sensitive melioidosis diagnostic tool.

The Chantratita lab has developed a diagnostic tool based on IgG antibodies targeting hemolysin co-regulated protein 1 (Hcp1) as a rapid point of care tool to improve patient's outcome by expediting diagnosis.