CDC: Bacteria responsible for deadly disease found in U.S. soil for the first time

CDC detects Burkholderia pseudomallei – a rare and sometimes deadly form of melioidosis in environmental samples from the Gulf Coast bacteria in coastal areas.

This is the first time B. The agency warns that Pseudomonas sp. has been found on U.S. soil , But the bacterium is likely to have been around since at least 2020, and modelling data suggest the area is well-suited to continued growth. Once established in the soil, the bacteria cannot be removed. pseudomallei became “locally endemic” along the Mississippi Gulf coast after it was found in soil and water sampling and alerted clinicians in the area to signs and symptoms of melioidosis in patients. It should also be considered in patients who have recently traveled to the area and have associated medical conditions.

“Patients usually have acute disease, but about 9% have chronic infections with symptoms lasting more than two months” and “Chronic melioid cases are often clinically similar to tuberculosis “.

CDC details the case of two unrelated U.S. individuals in 2020 and 2022 from the Gulf Coast. Both individuals developed melioidosis, prompting disease detectives to investigate of soil and water and household products. Three environmental samples collected this year from soil and puddle water tested positive for B. The CDC said, Pseudomonas spp. , sequencing data showed that both patients were infected with the same novel bacterial strain.

“Meloidosis has a wide range of nonspecific symptoms, such as fever, arthralgia, and headache, and can lead to illnesses including pneumonia, abscess formation, or blood infection,” the statement said. The agency said in a statement. “B. pseudomallei has historically been found in tropical and subtropical regions such as South and Southeast Asia, northern Australia, and parts of Central and South America and Puerto Rico.”

Globally, the disease has a case fatality rate ranging from 10% to 50%, but the U.S. has too few cases (about a dozen per year) to provide an accurate figure.

If a patient is diagnosed with melioidosis, CDC strongly recommends that physicians consult an infectious disease specialist, and treatment includes intravenous antibiotics for at least 2 weeks (up to 8 weeks depending on response). To prevent recurrence, oral co-sulfamethoxazole is recommended, and if the patient cannot receive co-sulfamethoxazole, oral amoxicillin/clavulanate is recommended.

Four widely reported cases of melioidosis in 2021 – in Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas – linked to tainted imported aromatherapy sprays sold at Walmart, But the 2020/2022 cases detailed by the CDC on Wednesday appeared

He points out that a 2016 Nature Microbiology paper predicts that the southern United States—including Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.—will be able to maintain B. pseudomallei in soil.

“Climate change is likely to allow pathogens to [find] new niches to live in the soil, rather than from deep on the surface, where the pathogen is now on the surface and individuals can infect it,” He told MedPage Today via email.

CDC says people living along the Mississippi Gulf coast have health conditions that put them at high risk for adverse outcomes of melioidosis—for example, alcoholics, diabetes Or those with chronic kidney or lung disease – should take precautions such as avoiding contact with soil or muddy water, especially after heavy rains.

Overall, the CDC states that the risk to the public is low, but continues to monitor environmental transmission, noting that as a state notifiable disease, melioidosis should always be reported to state health departments Report.

Kristina Fiore reports this story.

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  Ian Ingram is Editor-in-Chief of MedPage Today, helping to cover the site’s oncology.