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Tropical infection in the USA: Two dead - aroma spray is said to have been the trigger

2021-10-28T14:09:23.331Z


In the United States, people contracted a tropical infection without having traveled abroad. Two people died. An aromatic oil is said to have triggered the disease.


In the United States, people contracted a tropical infection without having traveled abroad.

Two people died.

An aromatic oil is said to have triggered the disease.

USA - In Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas (USA) four people contracted the tropical infection melioidosis in an unusual way.

Although they had not left the country in the recent past and thus had no contact with the tropics, they became infected.

The "Center for Disease Control and Prevention" (CDC) was only now able to provide the explanation for the case.

Tropical infection in the USA: four people fall ill

The first illness was reported as early as May 2021, and the other three followed by July. Two patients died of complications from melioidosis. The disease mostly only occurs in people who have traveled to areas where melioidosis is more common. The risk of getting infected is particularly high in tropical countries. However, as patients said they had not recently been to such a country, sanitary investigations were initiated.

The CDC took blood samples as well as samples from soil, water and consumer goods in and around their homes.

During the investigation, related strains of bacteria were discovered, suggesting a common source of infection.

The tribe responsible for the disease of the four people was very similar to those that are often found in South Asia.

The CDC therefore suspected that an imported product caused the infection.

Aromatic oil from India as the cause of the infection

In October 2021, the certainty followed: The pathogen causing melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, could be detected in an aroma spray that was confiscated from the Georgian patient's apartment for examination purposes. The spray is therefore responsible for the infection for the Georgia person. It is now determined whether the other three infected people also used this aromatic oil or whether another product with the same contaminated ingredient caused the disease.

The CDC is currently in close contact with the US consumer protection agency and the seller Walmart.

The manufacturer in India was also involved in the investigation to check whether the toxic ingredient was also used in other products.

As a precaution, five other fragrances from the producer have been withdrawn from the market.

Related products and brands are also examined.

Travel sickness melioidosis not notifiable in Germany

Melioidosis is an infectious disease that is triggered by certain bacteria and is also known as pseudo-snot.

For Europeans and Americans, it is considered a motion sickness that occurs mainly in tropical and subtropical areas.

The symptoms appear very differently in the patients.

From complete lack of symptoms to life-threatening blood poisoning, the first signs of an infection can be a cough, fever or skin infections with lump formation.

Later on, the lungs can become badly inflamed.

The disease can be treated with antibiotics; in severe cases, abscesses that have appeared must be removed.

Melioidosis is not notifiable in Germany, so there is no data on the occurrence of the disease in Germany, reports the Robert Koch Institute.

In March 2021, the tropical disease West Nile Virus spread in Germany.

(ale)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-10-28

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