A potentially deadly bacteria was found in water and soil samples in the United States for the first time, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to alert doctors and public health experts across the country on Wednesday. so that they take this into account when examining patients.
The bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei, was detected in the Gulf Coast region south of Mississippi. Exposure to the bacteria can cause melioidosis, a “rare and serious disease,” according to the CDC; about one in 4,600 people exposed get the disease, according to a 2019 study. The study also found that about 90,000 people die annually from melioidosis.
“Once well established in the soil, B. pseudomallei cannot be removed from the soil in a viable manner,” the CDC wrote in its health advisory. “Public health efforts should focus primarily on improving case identification so that appropriate treatment can be administered.”
Samples show the bacteria has been present in the Mississippi region since at least 2020, when a person in the Gulf Coast region was found to have melioidosis, although it’s unclear exactly how long Burkholderia pseudomallei , also known as B. pseudomallei. been in the area
The bacterium has previously been found in regions with tropical and subtropical climates around the world, including South and Southeast Asia, northern Australia, and parts of Central and South America. The CDC said modeling showed that the climate in southern Mississippi was also conducive to growing it.
Environmental sampling in Mississippi was conducted after two patients in the area received diagnoses of melioidosis, two years apart: one in July 2020 and the other in May 2022. The unnamed individuals were not related, the CDC said, but they lived in “a close geographic area.” proximity”, and had not recently traveled outside the United States.
Genomic sequencing data showed that both people had been infected by the same strain new to the Western Hemisphere, officials said. Both patients were hospitalized and recovered after antibiotic therapy.
Last month, the Mississippi State Department of Health and the CDC collected environmental samples of soil, water and plant matter from the patients’ properties, household products and nearby areas they frequented.
The bacteria can infect animals and people through direct contact or through cuts and wounds. The risk of person-to-person transmission is low, officials said. Symptoms usually appear one day to three weeks after exposure.
Most cases of melioidosis occur outside the United States, the CDC said. But last year, four people in four different states became infected with melioidosis after using a contaminated aromatherapy spray sold at Walmart. Two of the four people died, officials said.
Symptoms of melioidosis are nonspecific and vary from person to person, the CDC said, but symptoms include fever, localized pain or swelling, chest pain, and headaches. People with diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, and immunosuppressive conditions are more susceptible to the bacteria. Officials said a quick diagnosis and antibiotics were crucial.
B. pseudomallei isn’t the only one found in soil that can also cause disease.
Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is an infection caused by a fungus that lives in the soil of the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico and Central and South America. It is contracted by breathing in microscopic fungal spores from the air, although most people who breathe in the spores do not get sick, the CDC said. In 2019, about 20,000 cases were reported to the agency, most from people living in Arizona or California.