Posted BY: Jim Hoft

For the first time, a strain of bacteria generally seen in tropical and subtropical regions has been identified in the US, prompting a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In a statement released on Wednesday, CDC announced it has identified for the first time in environmental samples in the US the bacteria that cause melioidosis or also called Whitmore’s disease, a rare and severe disease.

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According to the press release, the CDC found out that two people who lived close to the Gulf Coast got sick with meliodosis, one in 2020 and the other in 2022 “prompting state health officials and CDC to take samples and test household products, soil, and water in and around both patients’ homes, with permission.”

“The bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei or B. pseudomallei, was identified through sampling of soil and water in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi,” CDC said in a statement.

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