Chlorination and pH of drinking water do not correlate with rates of melioidosis in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Prompted by 2 outbreaks of melioidosis with fatalities linked to culture-positive drinking water, we theorized that there may be a correlation between low drinking water pH or lack of chlorination and the rate of melioidosis in rural communities in tropical Australia. However, following adjustment for rainfall, such associations were not apparent in a multivariate regression model.