US health officials announced Wednesday that soil and water samples taken from Mississippi contain bacteria that cause a rare but serious illness called melioidosis. The authorities have thus alerted the country’s doctors, asking them to be alert to possible symptoms of this disease in patients.

Two people living in the southern United States, in the Gulf of Mexico region, contracted the disease separately in 2020 and 2022, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take these swabs in and near their homes. Three samples, soil and puddles, tested positive for the bacteria (Burkholderia pseudomallei).

Avoid cloudy water

Despite everything, the CDC considers that the risk for the general population remains “very low”. They are currently doing research to determine how widespread the bacteria is in the environment.

Symptoms of melioidosis can be wide-ranging, including fever, joint pain, or headache. It can cause pneumonia, abscess formation, or infection. Worldwide, melioidosis is fatal in 10-50% of cases.

More frail people living in Mississippi are advised to avoid contact with muddy water, protect their wounds, or wear waterproof boots and gloves while gardening.

Each year about 12 cases of melioidosis are diagnosed in the United States, mainly in people who have traveled to countries where this bacteria is endemic, especially in tropical regions. Other cases have also been caused by the contamination of products from these countries.