A BACTERI has been found in the continental US that causes a rare tropical disease in the soil and water.
The germ was found in Mississippi on the property of a man who… melioidosisa rare and sometimes fatal disease.
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Officials aren’t sure how long the bacteria had been there, but they think it’s highly likely to occur in other areas along the Gulf Coast.
In a health notificationthe Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that US doctors should consider melioidosis in patients, even if they have not traveled to other countries.
“Once it’s in the ground, it could pose a health threat to the people in the area,” said Julia Petras of the CDC, who oversaw the study.
Some early symptoms of the disease include fever, joint pain, and headache. It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.
However, if left untreated, the disease can lead to pneumonia, blood infections, and even death.
Only about 12 cases are reported annually in the states, and most cases are in people who traveled to places where the bacteria is commonly found, such as regions of Australia, Thailand and Central and South America.
Last year, four people contracted the disease despite not traveling internationally.
Officials said their illnesses were the result of a contaminated aromatherapy spray imported from India.
The new findings explain how two Mississippi men, who also did not leave the country, also contracted the disease.
One man got melioidosis in 2020, the other got the disease in 2022.
The two men live just ten miles apart, officials said.
It was not said exactly where the two men lived, but researchers took 109 soil and water samples from the area.
The germ was found in three spots – two in the ground and one in a puddle – on property belonging to the man who was ill in 2020.
Finding the bacteria is significant, but not surprising, according to researchers, as CDC officials believed soil contamination was the reason behind infections in Atascosa County in Texas in 2004 and 2018.
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