Bacteria causing rare disease found in MS Coast soil, water

A bacteria that causes a rare, dangerous infectious disease called melioidosis was found in Mississippi Coast soil and water samples, the Center for Disease Control said Wednesday.

The incidence of two melioidosis infections of unrelated individuals who lived near each other alerted officials to the possibility that the bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei, could be present on the Coast.

The infections occurred two years apart — one in 2020 and one in 2022 — but melioidosis is so rare that on average just 2 cases a year are diagnosed in the U.S., and in most of instances the disease is brought from abroad. Officials have not disclosed the location of the infections.

After researchers found the bacteria in three samples of soil and puddle water near the patients’ houses, they determined that it could be present in other Gulf Coast states with similar environmental conditions. The CDC has issued a national health advisory to alert doctors and clinicians of the risks and symptoms of melioidosis.

The CDC lists the bacteria as a potential bioterrorist agent because of the seriousness of melioidosis and the ease with which the bacteria could be used a in a hypothetical biological attack.

“Typically, we see these bacteria in countries where the bacteria are endemic or where it normally occurs,” Mississippi state epidemiologist Paul Byers said in a statement released by the state health department. “Burkholderia pseudomallei normally occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas like Southeast Asia or Central or South America. Because of the identification of this bacteria on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, persons at high risk for severe infection living on the Gulf Coast should take recommended precautions.”

What is melioidosis?

Melioidosis, also named Whitmore’s disease after the British biologist who discovered it in 1912, is usually caused by contact with soil or water contaminated with the bacteria B. pseudomallei. It is rare for people to transmit it to other humans.

Melioidosis patients can suffer a wide range of symptoms from fever and headaches to pneumonia, abscess formation, and blood infections. The disease is fatal in between 10 percent and 50 percent of cases worldwide, according to the CDC release.

Melioidosis is endemic to tropical areas in Southeast Asia and Australia. Prior to the recent findings, in the U.S., it had only ever been spotted in Puerto Rico.

In 2021, four American cases of melioidosis, including two deaths, were linked to a contaminated aromatherapy spray imported from India and sold at Walmart.

The bacteria is naturally resistant to many common antibiotics, meaning doctors must correctly identify an unfamiliar disease in order to effectively treat cases.

Even with the correct treatment regime administered in an intensive care facility, according to the CDC website, as many as 2 in 10 patients may still die from the disease.

What steps should you take to protect yourself?

The CDC says the general population faces a “very low” risk from the disease.

But people who suffer from diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, or excessive alcohol use are at greater risk from the disease.

The CDC recommends that if you have any of those conditions and live on the Mississippi Coast, there are a few things you can do to minimize your risk level.

• Stay away from soil and muddy water after heavy rain.
• Protect open wounds with waterproof dressings.
• When you are doing yard work, gardening, or otherwise in contact with soil, wear waterproof boots and gloves, especially after flooding or storms.

For more information, visit the CDC’s web page on melioidosis.

This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 4:59 PM.