The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified, for the first time in household environmental samples, the bacteria that causes a rare and serious disease called melioidosis.
Melioidosis, also called Whitmore’s disease, is an infectious disease that can infect humans or animals. It is a disease predominantly of tropical climates, especially in Southeast Asia and northern Australia where it is widespread.
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The bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei or B. pseudomallei, was identified through soil and water samples in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region.
It’s unclear how long the bacteria has been in the environment and where else in the US it might be found; however, modeling suggests that the environmental conditions found in the Gulf Coast states are favorable for bacterial growth.
The CDC is alerting doctors nationwide to this discovery through a national health advisory, reminding them to be aware of the signs and symptoms of melioidosis and to consider melioidosis in patients who have symptoms of the disease.
Two unrelated people living in close geographic proximity in the southern U.S. Gulf Coast region became ill with melioidosis two years apart in 2020 and 2022, prompting state health officials to and CDC to sample and analyze household products, soil, and water. and around the homes of the two patients, with permission.
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Three of the soil and water samples from the pond in 2022 tested positive at the CDC for B. pseudomallei, indicating that environmental bacteria were the likely source of infection for both individuals and that been present in the area at least since 2020.
Melioidosis is caused by direct contact with the bacterium, which is found in contaminated soil and water.
Among the average of 12 cases of melioidosis diagnosed in the United States each year, most have occurred in people with recent travel to a country where this bacteria is endemic. Cases of melioidosis have also been linked to contaminated commercial products imported from disease-endemic countries. This happened most recently in 2021 when a cluster of four cases in four states were linked to a contaminated imported aromatherapy spray.
Melioidosis has a wide range of non-specific symptoms such as fever, joint pain and headaches and can cause conditions including pneumonia, abscess formation or blood infections. Given the very small number of melioidosis cases identified historically in the United States, the CDC believes that the risk of melioidosis for the general population remains very low.
CDC encourages health care providers in the Gulf Coast region, as well as physicians nationwide, to be aware of melioidosis and to be aware of the potential for more cases as CDC and partners continue to investigate the geographical spread of B. pseudomallei. As a nationally notifiable disease, melioidosis must always be reported to the state health department.