Four cases of a serious, sometimes fatal infection called melioidosis that have bedeviled public health investigators for months appear to have been linked to an aromatherapy room spray sold at Walmart.
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The product, Better Homes and Gardens Lavender and Chamomile Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones, was sold at 55 Walmart locations and on the company’s website from February to Oct. 21. Walmart has issued a recall for roughly 3,900 bottles of the product that it sold. The recall includes five other scents of the Better Homes and Gardens Gem Room Spray: lemon and mandarin, lavender, peppermint, lime and eucalyptus, and sandalwood and vanilla.
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The bottle tested positive for contamination with Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis. It is commonly found in soil and water in parts of South and Southeastern Asia, and northern Australia, but not in the continental United States, where it’s classified as a dangerous pathogen that could threaten public health.
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The euphoria of finding the source of the bacteria was quickly dampened by the realization that the product was something being sold at Walmart, McQuiston said.
“We were very concerned when we found this bacteria in this bottle and began to imagine what the distribution number might look like across the United States,” she said. But then came some good news: Walmart revealed that the product was new to the chain and being sold as a test in a limited number of stores. Furthermore, not much of the product — at least not in Walmart terms — had been sold.
McQuiston said the CDC has been working with Walmart and the product’s manufacturer to see, among other things, whether the manufacturer makes other products that might be contaminated. That work continues.
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The CDC is suggesting that people who have used the product in the past 21 days who have symptoms consistent with melioidosis should seek medical care and tell the attending doctor about the aromatherapy spray exposure. People who have no symptoms but have used the spray in the past seven days should also see a doctor, who may prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection, the CDC said.
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People should not dispose of the product themselves — doing so could spread the bacteria further. Instead, they should double bag bottles in clear plastic bags, place them in a small box and return them Walmart.
Sure. That shit's already been thrown out.
Agency officials advised that any sheets or linens sprayed with the product should be washed and dried in a hot dryer, with bleach if desired. Surfaces the product might have been sprayed on should be cleaned with an undiluted disinfectant. People should wash their hands thoroughly after performing these tasks.
About a dozen cases of melioidosis are discovered in this country in any given year; they are almost always seen in people who have returned from traveling in Southeast Asia or northern Australia, where the bacteria are found in soil and water. People contract melioidosis by exposure to the bacteria via cuts in the skin or by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacteria.
Melioidosis has an estimated fatality rate of between 10% and 50%. People with some health conditions are at greater risk of severe if they contract the illness; those health conditions include diabetes, alcoholism, kidney disease, and chronic lung disease.
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There are four types of infection: localized, in the lungs, bloodstream infection, or disseminated infection, in which a localized infection spreads to another part of the body. Treatment depends on the type of infection, but consists of oral or intravenous antibiotics.
Melioidosis symptoms may include localized pain or swelling, fever or high fever, skin ulcers or abscesses, cough, chest pain, headache, anorexia, respiratory distress, abdominal discomfort, joint pain, disorientation, weight loss, stomach or chest pain, muscle or joint pain, and seizures, the CDC website states.
Pretty much anything then.
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